


Overwhelming Kindness

by OverWorkedWitch



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: AU, All Human, F/F, Femslash, POV Female Character, doccubus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-29
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 04:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3636726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverWorkedWitch/pseuds/OverWorkedWitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lauren finds herself with an unlikely, unwanted, coworker when the sarcastic Bo McCorrigan is assigned to the ER. Despite forming easy friendships with the staff, Lauren is not as easily won over. When months of distance of distrust come crashing down in a simple act of kindness, Lauren has to deal with a new problem as feelings of hostility are replaced with an intense attraction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

At a time when her life was spiraling out of her control Lauren found herself very grateful for the moments she had to herself at an empty nurses' station. Through centrally divided time slots of worrying about keeping the department stable and caring for the masses that did not seem to understand using their heads to break their fall will lead to stitches no matter how insistent they are about being fine, there wasn't much time for anything else. The week was just getting started and already it was showing signs of just being one of those that made her consider starting the weekend early by taking a few of those vacations days off. It was so tempting but the obvious argument against it was that come next Monday the problems of the week would be there, waiting, along with another week's worth problems.

A stolen glance towards the artificial light of the lobby had long turned into an obsessive stare as the doctor examined every detail of the color that stood out as such a stark contrast to the pitch-black night that was threatening to sneak past the glass walls. It was a no doubt strange thing to do but a thought had taken hold that would not release from her mind. The world around her was always bright because the lights never turned off. That was all that stopped the darkness from sweeping the hospital and consuming her, a false light that she had left on but that would eventually give out.

That was what Lauren feared. At any moment during the night someone could simply turn off the lights and she would be lost in the dark, swept away from everything as she became fully engulfed by it all until there was no way to separate the woman from the void. The very person that she was would be negated by the complete eclipse and the woman would be left blind to the world around her, left to the whims of her environment with no control over where she would end up as she moved through it. She could see it approaching; she could see the day that turned into a night so dark where even the torches would not burn through it and she felt herself slip into the darkness.

Little bits of light begun to return and soon the subtle noise of privacy curtains drawn and monitors filled the Lauren's head, which began to feel every sound as a painful vibration. After a few attempts resulting in sheer agonizing torments, the woman finally got a look at her surroundings without the light torturing her senses. She was in the ER, still near the nurses' station, but she was no longer on her feet and given the sudden pain in her back the change in position had not been intentional.

Not wanting for someone to find her lying on the hospital floor, the doctor was about to sit up when a rather loud noise made her shut her eyes again and hope that whatever the sound was it would go away. Instead, the noise came again, louder, and too close to the woman's ringing ears to come from a distant patient or departing nurse. It took a few seconds for Lauren to realize someone was talking to her.

A few blinks confirmed that whoever it was they were not in front of her but as she went to turn her head a pair of hands were suddenly holding it in place. The grip confirmed a presence but she had no conformation of who would get to ridicule her for passing out in her own emergency room. Someone asking her to stay still before they stuck a light in her eyes was a not a pleasant experience and, despite the value of the test for medical conformation of injuries, Lauren really just wanted to get to her feet and find the nearest bottle of aspirin.

As the particularly obnoxious light went away, and the annoyingly bright emergency room came back into focus, she felt a hand on the side of her head again. This time it moved down to her neck for a few seconds before both hands lifted her head slightly before being placing it back down on something that was far softer than the cold tile. Lauren knew the event likely only took a few seconds but suddenly it felt like an eternity had passed of laying there why someone kept their hand on her neck, which she suddenly hoped was as far as the hand was going to go. There was no chance of actually being able to see whoever was behind her and trying to find them by moving her eyes backwards only made her head spin.

Almost on cue, the person behind her moved to her side and picked up her arm before fingers pressed against her radial artery. Rather hoping the person would be satisfied with those two measurements of her heart rate, and not pursue a full medical exam why she was laying on the floor, Lauren finally got a look on the person manhandling her. The persistent examiner was wearing a simple black shirt came to rest just at the top of dark pants with no medical coat in sight. She could not figure why some random passerby would go through the basic steps in checking for head trauma instead of yelling for a doctor.

With the world slowly starting to come into focus, still not a place that seemed to make much sense, she noted the clothes covering the woman's frame seemed familiar and looked towards the long brown hair that covered a face of someone still counting her pulse added to the familiarity. Each second that ticked by brought less pain and more clarity to the woman's temporarily oxygen starved brain and suddenly she realized the mystery woman was her latest hiring. Well hiring was a strong word, technically Doctor McCorrigan now worked in the ER because Hale had placed her there without caring if she wanted to hire the woman or not.

Most of the time it was not hard not to notice Doctor McCorrigan based entirely off her attire. There were few doctors that did not come to work in a full suit, or end up spending all but ten minutes a day dressed in scrubs, yet the v-neck shirt and leather pants with the white lab coat that was now missing never seemed out-of-place.

"Doctor Lewis, what happened?" Bo had known from an early age that being a doctor was going to lead to her seeing some strange things, but a passed out department head wasn't one of the sights she had expected in the slightest.

Lauren did her best to straighten up and look like she had not been staring into an empty lobby, blacked out and then started staring at the other doctor in a span of what was probably less than a minute if the clock on the wall was believable.

"Can you hear me? Are you alright?" There wasn't any blood, and pupil reaction had been in a safe range, but Bo felt panic start to build as the woman didn't respond to her questions.

"I am fine Doctor McCorrigan." It was a rude reaction to have but the fallen doctor felt surprised about the concern she could hear coming from the new hiring about her well-being. After all the slightly younger woman was a doctor and one that had shown far more interest in the wellbeing of patients than a lot of the white coats that ended up in the ER instead of a more specialized department. Yet she did not trust her, not in the way she trusted her other colleagues. There was just something different about the woman, something that bothered her. She treated patients better than many other doctors did. They sick and injured all able to face the world after an encounter with the young doctor. Yet the effort was casual, almost fleeting, and certainly did not match that shielding touch that Lewis made sure to place on all of her patients.

"I just had a few more reports to file before I headed home." Realizing that verbal communication was a good way to rule out severe head trauma Lewis tried to think of what else to say sounded half away intelligent at the moment because 'I slipped' was not going to get her out of this situation any faster. To her surprise the brown eyes of the other looked straight into her own as she felt her arm touching the cool tile again.

"So you decided the best way to celebrate putting your signature on the forms was to pass out in the ER?" Bo was no stranger to the cold responses of her boss that seemed like a constant reaction to her presence. In fact it was rather pleasant at the moment as the woman's words were clear and precise, reducing the likelihood that she had suffered a concussion.

Lauren was not actually sure how her luck was so bad that she could manage to completely fail at stopping herself from hitting the floor and somehow end up as the informal patient of the second most sarcastic doctor to work there, all after midnight and in her own department. Sure, she had spoken to Doctor McCorrigan before but discussing possible treatments on a few cases, a bit of occasional small talk why in the cafeteria and assigning the woman patients were not exactly friendly chats that left with them with plenty to discuss later on. Still recognizing that seemingly patented sarcasm that Doctor McCorrigan spoke to everyone with was something Lauren felt surprisingly comforted by it. After all, she would not be able to separate the sarcastic nature of the question if she had suffered major trauma from the fall.

"It is an emergency room Doctor McCorrigan; people generally only show up here when they are losing consciousness and it is not usually a pleasant experience for anyone." The new doctor's reaction was almost instantaneous as her eyebrows raised in surprise before a small smirk came across the woman's lips. Obviously, the woman had not entirely considered just whom she was talking to before speaking. Lauren Lewis had earned her role as head of a department after years of being overlooked by her superiors why putting up with years of her best friend's sarcastic, albeit teasing, abuse. A single remark from the elusive Bo was not going to disrupt her thoughts, although it did seem to linger among them.

"Now I think we can both agree that the floor is no place for an examination or conversation. If you don't mind I would appreciate it if you moved so I could get to my feet before someone from legal rushes down here with some waiver of liability forms they want me to sign." Lauren assumed she was free to go when the brunette stepped away from her side but found she was staring again as the other woman suddenly put one leg over to her other side creating a position where the brunette was standing over her. Whatever was happening was lost on the blonde as she became fixated on the brown eyes before the woman suddenly, and literally, snapped her out of the trance. The sound of a finger snapping at her, twice none of the less, brought her eyes to the hands that had previously examined her that were now being extended down towards her. She did not appreciate having someone snap at her but accepted the help up all the same.

Slowly pulled to her feet by slender fingers wrapped tightly around her wrists Lauren got back to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy from the change but well enough to free herself from Doctor McCorrigan's grip. Fixing her scrubs with one hand and keeping the other firmly on the counter as her rescuer calmly walked passed her and picked up a haphazardly folded lab coat from the tile floor. She could only watched as the mystery that was Bo moved towards a vacant part of the hospital without a word.

The ER doctor considered her choices, as she knew the other woman would be taking the coat that just moments ago kindly placed behind her head to its resting place within a locker before heading home. If she followed her, or remained at the station, there would be no doubt she would be able to thank Doctor McCorrigan for her help but if she returned to her office they would miss each other entirely. Realizing it was not really much of a choice, Lauren grabbed the files that had caused her recent troubles and headed off.


	2. Chapter 2

Having patched up the third broken bone from the half-dozen participants of a bar fight Bo took off her gloves, for what was hopefully the last time of her extended shift, and threw them away. With the wrist set and the man now a pharmacy visit away from getting the painkillers that would not do anything to stop his stupidity, she was finally finished - albeit an hour after she was due to go home. How these men, each of whose closets were probably full of the same high-end suits, who probably worked in similar offices doing similar tasks all within a few blocks of each other, had decided they hated each other enough to settle their problems was by running their faces into each other's fists she couldn't understand.

Why the brunette never been one to deny herself the pain and pleasure of life, she had never felt the urge to actually get into a bar room brawl. The whole thing seemed contradictory to why she went into an establishment overflowing with men, women, alcohol and enough drugs to make sure she couldn't remember her own name for three days, let alone anything else. That would be exactly what she was intending to do with the next few days off had it not been that bad habit that forced her to move in the first place.

These days she was all about she was living a life of sobering reality that had replaced those vices with the ideas of monogamy, vitamins and health drinks. In fact they had done such a good job of taking over for past vices that the doctor was lacking any particular enthusiasm towards them. Had she really burnt out on life before she was 32?

No, it was just the end of a rather long week with a patient whose very existence seemed to prove that Neanderthals were still very much present in modern society. A couple of beers, some time with the latest bad horror movies on Netflix and 12 hours of sleep, would help her forget all about that idiot. After that she could get on with the rest of her weekend. Of course, what she really wanted to do was turn around and add a broken jaw to the list of things he needed treatment for at the hospital but going home seemed like a better way to keep her job. If she still had the urge to track the idiot down and put him back in the hospital, or do anything else reckless, she could always trying taking up base jumping. "Stupid jackass."

"Get another patient that couldn't keep his hands to himself Doctor McCorrigan?" Lauren had heard the woman stomping about and huffing, but had intended to remain silent before the verbal remark.

There was no doubt that the voice belonged to the head of the ER but what Bo couldn't figure out is where it was coming from as the blonde was not behind her. The slightlyout of place, partly closed privacy curtain, did offer a seemingly intelligent place to check as the rest of the ER looked empty. Sure enough there was Doctor 'People just need other people to love them' Lewis finishing up a chart near what had obviously been attached to a recently occupied bed. "No, he was too busy poking his nose to see if it needed plastic surgery." The ER was where people who literally could not screw a light bulb without hurting themselves ended up all day, yet she had never seen the other woman show any outward sign of frustration with them.

The woman in pink scrubs looked up from the chart she was previously invested in to offer a quick smile before a more confused look distorted her features. "Then what did he do to get qualified under the jackass category?"

"That idiot put himself and five other people in the ER all because of some guy knocked into him. Apparently, it was too suggestive for him to brush off as a drunken accident where the other guy simply stumbled and grabbed the nearest person to prevent himself from falling. Doctors have better things to do than cast and stitch up drunken idiots that feel their reputation was somehow insulted by a different idiot mistaking them for a support beam." Normally could sympathize with the situation, at least on paper. No one likes the feeling of some drunk grouping them in some bar, by accident or otherwise, but it happens and countless people are able to move on with their lives without the matter ending up in a hospital.

"If people like that had to suffer through the pain of their actions than maybe they would learn to stop hitting each other and wasting resources that could go to patients that deserve it." It wasn't personal really, but the idiot's presence was simply a reminder that there are people out there who would get a chance to spend the next several decades of their life as hateful bastards but still get to see their family grow, society progress and the world change yet a child who wanted to rescue unicorns wouldn't make it through tomorrow.

"Ah. Unfortunately, I doubt depriving him, or anyone else, of medication would do anything to change their outlook on life. Might actually make them act out against other people more often." Lauren understood the frustration, but keeping someone in pain, even if they brought it on themselves, seemed like the wrong way to prove a point.

"Right well I am going home before someone shows up with another fascinating tale of how it is not their fault they crashed their car. I'm one short of my daily tree appearing out of nowhere average and I would rather not chance ruining that milestone by waiting around." After heading off to the locker room Bo only needed to take a few steps before it was rather obvious that the other woman was following behind her. It was at a respectable distance yet still had that killer in a bad horror movie feel about it. The trip was short but it seemed to last a lot longer when listening to two sets of feet wandering down the hall, particularly when they fell into sync with each other half way there.

Bo walked over to her locker and intended to leave as quickly as possible when that voice popped up again.

"Thank you for the other night. I should have said something right after it happened or at the very least made an effort to thank you sooner than this." The comment left her lips surprisingly easy for all the concern she had over bringing up the incident at all. It was obviously stupid to worry that the brunette was suddenly going to tell everyone that she was a liability to the hospital, but Lauren also knew that the rules made it clear the brunette should do exactly that.

The blonde had apparently left the chart somewhere along the way and was now standing just into the locker room with perfect posture. Bo had noticed that ever since the incident the woman had seemed more uptight than usual, almost as if relaxing for a moment might just kill someone. That would not do. This woman had followed her through the hospital to offer words that were obviously giving her difficulty; she shouldn't be allowed to get through it as if Bo had just picked up a dropped file for her.

Besides if there was one thing Bo knew how to do it was how to make women lose their self-control. It had been a while since she had put into practice, despite Dyson's accusations, and it was not like she had ever failed to meet a goal, no matter how rusty she was at getting to it. Besides there couldn't be any harm if she did it just to get a reaction out the other doctor.

"It was no problem, really. Besides you are not the first woman I had to help off the floor after she just could not stand up any longer." The brunette offered a brief smile to the blonde before setting to the task of opening her locker. In actuality the coat did need to be put away but Bo was also wanted more time as the first comment did not seem to faze the posed doctor in the slightest.

"Well I appreciate it all the same Doctor McCorrigan. Most of the staff gossips so much that I have little doubt that word of what happened would have avoided Hale's ears for long and if knew he about he would have made me stay home for the rest of the week." Bo was not known for being a particularly reserved person, at least as far as Lauren could tell, and she was thankful the woman had decided to make exception about potential work place incidents.

"There was nothing to say Doctor Lewis. However, for future reference I generally prefer to keep my encounters involving other women suddenly going unconscious in a more private setting. So let's try to not make a habit out of it in the ER." It took a few seconds but the younger doctor got the reaction she was waiting for. It was not much of anything and it was gone as quickly as it arrived, but for one instant Lauren's two hands came together to sooth the bottom center of the already flat scrub top the woman was wearing.

That was the sign that Bo had won, she had cracked the woman who had obviously no intention of showing her true form to the brunette. Yet she needed just a bit more from Miss Perfect before she could let her go. Sliding off the coat and hanging it up, she retrieved the prescription pad and pen once more. A quick flurry of writing and the tearing of paper from the pad was all she needed before the brunette extended out a piece of paper towards her colleague. "My cell number. Be sure to use it the next time you start feeling like you are going to pass out. We wouldn't want you hurting yourself."

Lauren understood the woman might have some concerns over her badass image being put at risk by their encounter in the ER, Lauren was not entirely sure though what to make about the rest of the comment. The brunette did not seem to shy from conversation about her attraction to other women but there was a certain implication in those words that made the blonde feel nervous again. It was obviously just a joke that she should have laughed and smiled at before walking away satisfied that Bo clearly had no real interest in what happened. Yet there she was fiddling with her shirt like an idiot over a simple sarcastic comment as if she had not heard far worse from Kenzi over the years.

Grateful that Bo seemed occupied with her lab coat and not waiting for an actual response of some sort Lauren set her mind to thanking the woman once more before trying for a graceful exit. When a prescription paper with what her brain caught on was Bo's phone number written on it was extended to her it seemed reasonable enough to accept the considerate gesture and continue forward with the plan.

Lauren stepped forward trying to convince herself it was the gesture that the other doctor felt comfortable enough to offer the personal information that was suddenly causing the smile that was plastered all over her face. After all it could not be that she was suddenly excited to be getting the woman's phone number, which could lead to further contact between the two of them. When she went to retrieve the piece of improperly used hospital paper Lauren suddenly felt concerned again. The grip on the other side tightened instead of releasing and Bo was suddenly a lot closer than necessary.

The blonde seemed to take the steps toward her easy enough, even offering a kind smile regarding the oh so very thoughtful offer. However as soon as her hand was on the paper Bo took a step closer and leaned forward. "I like to stay on top of these sorts of things."

Seeing those eyes stare right at her for what felt like an eternity, yet break away in a moment that was over far too quickly, Lauren realized that was the second time in less than a week she had trouble remembering what had happened before they crossed paths.

With smirk, and remaining within Lauren's personal space for a few seconds, Bo finally stepped away, putting the pad of paper and pen back into a coat pocket and gently shutting the locker door. Giving the poor woman a quick smile the brunette walked past her without another word.

Lauren on the other hand was just stuck where the other woman had left her standing after what had been such a simple turn of events. She had no explanation for why she suddenly felt unable to move her feet from the floor. It was just a prescription paper with digits on it; it shouldn't have been anything important but they, along with the woman who wrote them, intrigued her far more than she was comfortable with.


	3. Chapter 3

On a chilly Sunday morning Bo was a mile from her destination at the end of her run when the cell phone started going off. A quick glance showed a local area code attached to a string of numbers that she did not know and thus on silent it went to ring until the caller got her voicemail. Either they would find it important enough to leave a message or would get the hint that after six rings she wasn't going to answer.

Resuming her run towards the apartment complex she had called home for the last several months it would just be a few more minutes of peace before she had to start facing the end of her weekend and she really did not want to spend any of them on the phone. Unfortunately, that literally seemed like all the peace Bo had earned that morning as not fifteen minutes later Bo was feet mere steps from the entryway to her building when the cell phone went off again.

She wasn't entirely sure but the number looked like the one that had called minutes earlier and it was either some insurance company, in which case they could enjoy being the newest addition to her blocked callers list, or something might be up at the hospital and someone was just using a different line. Pressing accept, the woman put the phone to her ear to see what the caller had to say.

There was no sound coming from the other side for a couple of seconds but she moved the phone away and almost shut off when a single word came over the receiver.

"Hello?" Lauren hesitated when the call connected and there was no greeting, but she had dialed the number for a reason and it was too late to change her mind now.

"Doctor Lewis?" The voice was a little off from when compared to how it normally sounded but a cell phone can do that to a person. Placing the phone against the side of her face, Bo was quick to voice her own confusion, perhaps faster than was normal for someone who had been looking to avoid talking to people.

"Doctor McCorrigan. I wasn't sure if I got your number right. I realize it is sort of early, and it is your day off, and you were probably asleep, but I wanted to call before I had to go to the hospital for a couple of hours." Lauren wanted to kick herself. She should have just left well enough alone, but she wanted to get to know the woman better away from the hospital. She had judged her without knowing her and maybe she could now do something to make up for that.

Bo thought the explanation seemed more out of place than the random Sunday morning phone call before ten am. It had to be work related but why something work related couldn't wait until at least she was at the hospital was answered when a sudden panic set in.

Last time she had seen the blonde had been Thursday night when they talked. Well the woman talked and Bo hit on her before giving out the very number Lauren had now used to get in touch with her. She remembered exactly how she carried her side of the conversation, not to mention the way she handed the paper to the other woman. There was no explaining away that she had made several suggestive comments at her boss.

This was the call telling her not to bother showing up for work tomorrow and that a restraining order would be in place. There wouldn't even be a helpful letter from Hale to make sure she could find another job. Actually the Chief of Medicine was probably putting together a list of people to alert that she had previously been accused of killing a patient, drug abuse, and recently sexually harassed a colleague. In short she would made out to be a crazy woman who could not be trusted under any circumstance.

"Doctor McCorrigan?" Lauren was still on the phone and somehow hanging up right then did not seem like a practical escape plan from making a fool of herself.

"Yes?" Bo waited for the hammer to drop. She might find a job on the other side of the country working in a clinic barely one step removed from a back alley, if she was lucky.

"I was wondering if you had any plans this afternoon, say around two?" A casual launch seemed like a good way to start getting to know each other and yet Lauren felt oddly nervous, especially when there wasn't an immediate reply.

She wouldn't have put past Hale to drag her into the office only to have security remove her but Bo had a hard time imagining Saint Lewis being that petty over some flirting by a coworker. "Why?" The annoyed tone even caught Bo by surprise but if this woman was going to drag out the day just to fire her in person she at least deserved to know it in advance.

"Oh…well I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch. It would be my treat. I know the hospital doesn't exactly offer satisfying compensation for all the work you have put in after your shifts and plus I owe you for the other night. Though if you are busy, or something, I understand. It was just I am not going to be able to get free until after one and given how things at the hospital have been I doubt either of us will get have enough time off next week." Lauren took slight pause, not really long enough for the other woman to say anything but long enough for her to take a breath. "You probably have already plans though, and I shouldn't have called this early, so I'll just see you around the hospital."

Bo could not really think of a single thing she actually had to do. It was not that early to where it was unreasonable for someone to call. A couple of hours ago the phone call would have replaced her need for an alarm clock but she wasn't that lazy as to sleep in until noon after a couple other days off. Besides finding out she wasn't fired had a surprising way of adding news to the day that requires some celebration. She really didn't know the woman, but if Lauren was offering her a free meal instead of ending her career after that conversation the other night than she should change that. It would also be a good chance for her to prove that she could be friendly without giving off the impression that she was strictly doing it to better her odds of getting into the other woman's scrubs.

"Lauren?" There was no immediate response but when Bo took a quick look at the phone confirmed it was still tracking the seconds the two had talked for so no one had hung up.

"Yes Doctor McCorrigan?" Lauren felt her nerves start to shake and couldn't explain why.

"I'll see you around 2:30?"

"Ok."

"Ok." With that, Bo ended the call. Despite finishing a run not more than a few minutes ago she felt rather calm. Deciding to try that same route again next weekend and checking the time on her phone she had more than enough to continue her usual routine of taking the stairs to the roof than back down to her apartment. That wouldn't take more than few minutes really. Then she could get everything else done before meeting Lauren for lunch. The only real problem would be that she had no idea where they were going to have lunch, what they were going to eat or what they could possibly have to say to each other. "Shit!"

Taking a quick look at her reflection in the glass walls that separated the building from the street Bo took notice of how she looked for the first time in a while. It was not just looking good enough to pick up a random few hours of fun and turning some heads at the hospital; she needed to make the right impression today. If the impression she was looking for was sweaty, dehydrated and suddenly panicked workout clothes demonstrator than she was ready to go. The respectable doctor and friendly neighborhood lifesaver look though was going to take some effort to achieve. The other option was of course calling Lauren back to find out where they were going to lunch, or just canceling claiming she forgot something important.

One option made her sound like an idiot and the other a complete jerk. Not liking either of those two options she opted for the third; even if that meant dressing for an occasion she had no idea how to dress for and going in completely blind. Overall, there did seem like there was a lot of work ahead of her for a day that technically involved doing very little and then getting lunch with a coworker.

The clock in her car was showing 2:09, which meant that she had officially been sitting in her car for the past five minutes. It was a stupid thing, being nearly a half hour early just to find out where they where they were going to eat, yet waiting in a car out of fear someone else would agree with her did not seem a whole hell of a lot better. Reluctantly invoking the premise that there was no time like the present, Bo shut off the car and forced her legs to move her out of the vehicle.

Being in the hospital on a weekend had been a rare event since the transfer, even if it came with the price of Bo not getting the luxury of leaving the hospital much on the days before hand. Though she would have thought that after a few 80 hour weeks that she would know where the office for the head of the department was at.

Spotting a nurse near the front of the hospital that did not seem to be doing anything was a positive sign to start things off. "Hi, could you tell where I could find Doctor Lewis's office?"

"You are?" Nadia didn't look up from the folder at the intruder. Probably another sales rep the Chief of Medicine had dumped on Lauren as if the woman didn't have enough to deal with.

"Doctor McCorrigan." Bo got the instinct impression of being ignored, but the caramel skinned woman at least seemed to be doing her job so Bo tried to keep that mind.

"Doctor McCorrigan?" Nadia looked over at the visitor dressed too casually for a doctor before resuming filling in patient information. "I don't think you are not scheduled to work today nor are you on call."

"Very true, Doctor Lewis's office?" What the hell was this woman's problem? There wasn't a response for several seconds as the nurse simply glared at her.

"Why are you looking for Doctor Lewis?" She didn't trust the woman's sudden interest in Lauren.

"There was scheduling conflict for my shifts next week. Her office would be…" Bo wanted the strange conversation over with, but wandering around a hospital looking for an office didn't sound appealing either.

"It would probably be one on that says Doctor Lewis on the door." Nadia turned completely away from the intrusive woman, intent on sparring Lauren from having to deal with her.

About the time Bo was considering asking again, with a few choice words mixed into the question, a familiar voice got her attention instead.

"Bo?" Lauren had gotten use to surprises since Hale called her into his office to meet one Doctor McCorrigan, but seeing her talking to Nadia wasn't something she hadn't been ready for in the slightest.

Bo saw her companion for the afternoon walking towards her but the mountain of folders the blonde was carrying did not exactly raise her hopes that showing up early would be a welcomed surprise.

"Doctor Lewis. I was just trying to find out if you were in your office still." She gave her would be lunch companion a smile that would hopefully make up for the fact that she was sort of lying.

"I was just heading that way now." Lauren cast a last look between the two women before deciding it was best if she got them away from each.

Taking the hint the younger woman followed, ignoring the glares she was getting from the receptionist except for offering a salute with her middle finger to the annoying bitch. Bo did not fully understand why she felt the need to make a good impression on the ER doctor that had offered her lunch but she did.

As they entered the office, the brunette watched as Lauren attempted to flip on the overhead light before settling on the fact that dumping the paperwork on to her desk first would be a requirement. Noticing the distress and deciding something of a helpful hand would be proper Bo switched on the light. Observing as the office's usual resident went through the effort of putting each folder into one of two piles based on some system she didn't get. Whatever it was that required that Lauren bend slightly over the desk though Bo was not going to complain.

In fact the choice of the woman's office attire of black slacks, a dark brown fitted shirt, which Bo noticed had ridden up the small of the blonde's back, and short heels did not offer any reason to complain either. The outfit wasn't obscene, or even borderline scandalous, but it was one of a handful of times the two women had crossed paths where the department head wasn't dressed in scrubs. Not that it should matter if Lauren wore office clothing, or scrubs, or if she wondered around the hospital naked, because the brunette should not be staring at the remarkably fit woman for any reason. Her focus should have been entirely on just getting through lunch like it was a requirement for job security. It shouldn't matter if it was the 5'5, blonde haired, brown-eyed woman who had asked her to join her for a meal because at best they would be friends.

However, if they were friends, there was nothing saying that her eyes could not wander over Lauren's form from head to toe strictly out of curiosity for how Lauren looked right? As long as it was from a safe vantage angle it could not hurt to look to see exactly how the clothes fit.

No. Bo was going to look at Lauren strictly as a coworker and possibly as a friend but not as someone who could offer her a new workout routine. Besides whatever curios interest she had, she didn't even know if the blonde doctor was single.

"I hate to do this but I have to cancel lunch." Laruen had never felt regret for needing to put work ahead of something personal. She had canceled lunches before without any concern about the impression it would create. Today though she had made plans she truly wanted to keep, especially after it taking all morning to work up the nerve to make a simple phone call.

Bo suddenly found herself in reality again. It had been a rough trip as she felt a lurch in the pit of her stomach. As the woman turned around, but didn't truly face her, she felt bad that the blonde seemed so upset over what could be chalked up to a minimal problem at its worst.

"Someone messed up the expense reports. According to the budget committee the ER just ordered eight new bed sheets and 200 new office chairs along with some other minor inconsistencies that didn't make any sense. I tried to assure the committee that the numbers could be easily corrected in a few minutes during the session but they are insisting on a whole new report before Monday." Lauren figured that would be the end to whatever friendship they might have developed, but she couldn't let the ER shut down because of the mistake either.

"They are making you do all that by yourself?" That was definitely not what Bo had expected when she showed up. A bit of paperwork left undone, maybe, but having her afternoon completely turned around by some group of paper pushers being a pain in the ass didn't sit well. She couldn't believe that they were that obsessed with reports that they would kill the efficiency of the ER over them. No. That definitely was not going to happen. Not after the effort it took to find her favorite pair of dark grey jeans and a black top that wasn't a v-neck cut.

Shrugging her shoulders and hoping to make the best out of the situation Lauren managed her side of the conversation why preparing to spend the next several hours buried under months of reports. "It is either I do it or the ER goes without supplies."

Bo decided that if lunch meant doing expense reports and eating take out then so be it. "How do you feel about Tai food?" The brunette took out her phone and began scrolling through the list of names looking for a new restaurant that she had found.

"I have never had it but this thing with the committee shouldn't mean that you should get stuck here." Lauren smiled at the genuine consideration and she had to busy herself with a folder when the other doctor never wavered even when she protested.

Bo confirmed their orders and moved to get a closer look at the paper work after hanging up. Watching the woman make notes throughout the reports she quickly noticed a problem with her offer to help. "Your hand writing is awful, even for a doctor."

Lauren sat the first folder on her desk before grabbing a hold of a stack of loose papers that she had written on just days earlier. The comment ignored until she finished writing her sentence. "It is not. My writing is perfectly legible and I have never had a complaint about it."

"I am sure you haven't." Bo was certain there were a great many things no one had to the doctor before, but tried to keep her mind focused on the scribbled words and numbers.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The blonde placed her hands on her hips and stared at the internist, challenging her to explain the comment.

"You could easily win the world's nicest doctor award, and are a strong contender for the general human being category. That is not someone most people are going to tell that their writing is so jammed together that it is almost looks like serial killer wrote it." Honestly it did have a bit of 'murderer' vibe the way an entire paragraph took up no more space than a couple of lines and Bo wasn't certain the numbers were Arabic numerals or some alien language.

"Yeah, well, you hold your phone weird." As Lauren realized she had insulted the woman trying to help her, she immediately felt regret.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that." The word came out with a sort of hurt sigh that followed the woman taking a completely vulnerable stand. There was no sign of the defensive posturing that she held a moment ago.

For Bo she was still trying to process the remark as it's not everyday someone comes up with the world's strangest insult, but when she noticed Lauren looked as if she if it was some ruthless personal attack and Bo had to smile. "I think I can take a comment about the way I hold my phone Doctor Lewis. Though for a second I was sure my life was over." Her lighthearted attitude about the whole thing quickly drew the blonde's attention, which lead to the brunette seeing a look of annoyance in those brown eyes before something a bit more devious took over.

"Oh I am sure it was not the first time you had to face an angry woman after saying the wrong thing. Though compared to the usual experiences you have with women I suppose it makes sense you are able to move on so quickly." Lauren put herself inches from the other woman. It was time to turn things around.

That, Bo did not except and the sudden lack of personal space as her coworker got closer definitely added to that surprise.

"Lucky for you I have never been one to mix words with a wasted a drink on a bad date. That is where your good fortune ends though I am afraid as I promised to pay for lunch but I never said anything about buying you a drink." Lauren didn't move, waiting to see just how long it would take for the brunette to catch on to the situation she had put herself in.

The innocent, love everyone that walks into the ER with a screwdriver stuck in their head, doctor was without a doubt crossing a line. It might not have been the four-lane highway Bo had crossed but it was still something.

As the two stared at each other, both trying to react to what the other one would do before either one could do anything, there was a ringing sound in the background that added an annoyance to the room that hadn't previously been there. Neither pair of brown eyes moved from the other as seconds went by with the ringing continuing in the background.

Finally, Lauren looked away, with a small smile on her, creating space between the two in order for the blonde to answer the phone. It was the briefest of calls with the doctor just saying yes and thank you before hanging up.

"One of the nurse's needs some assistance. If the food arrives before I get back I'll bring it with me." And with that Lauren walked out the door without saying anything else. The scene was so familiar yet the setting and the one left were so different.

Realizing that she needed to move before Lauren returned with lunch Bo decided that going and getting a couple of drinks wouldn't really violate her own cardinal rule of seduction because she was strictly going stay friends with woman. At least it seemed like a good enough excuse to put her ego aside and go get something for Laure. Except she didn't know what the woman liked to drink. "Shit!"


	4. Chapter 4

After a few agonizing minutes of standing in front of the vending machine, all spent trying to figure out which drink best suited Lauren, Bo finally settled on buying two bottles of water. It was the safest choice to make and that itself put another dent in her ego. Why she was not on the woman's Christmas list, they had spent a rather great deal of time near each other over the recent weeks. The ER was never overflowing with doctors vying over who got to treat the kid with the bloody noise whose parents fully believed the child was going to die. Yet, during her whole time at the hospital, she never really got Lauren.

Most people around the hospital had their opinions as to what Lauren was like but they generally seemed to stick to what would it took thirty seconds to realize. The consensus was that Lauren was nice, dedicated and honest. All of which are fine qualities, they even gave the woman a rather attractive charm to her, but none of them revealed anything truthful. There was something else, beneath all the reassurances that distracted anyone from looking further, Bo was sure of that.

Opening the office door Bo walked in fully expecting the smell of Thai food, which instead was completely absent. The office was also missing its usual occupant. A good ten minutes had passed in her efforts to get them drinks and that should have been more than enough time for Lauren to walk to the lobby and back.

Though having a moment alone in the office would give her the chance to investigate the woman without having to ask obvious questions. Nothing would actually be touched, certain boundaries had to be respected amongst colleagues, but a look around couldn't hurt. There was just something enticing about being able to see whom Lauren was when work did not involve the rush of screaming patients to deal with.

Setting the water bottles on the desk, Bo glanced around the room. There really was not much to look at. A large wooden desk mostly took up the little floor space that existed in the office. A light brown upholstery couch took up most of one wall, which were mostly bare except for a large window centered behind the desk and a few framed diplomas. Last of the furniture was an office chair, which looked exactly like the very uncomfortable ones at the nurses' station, pushed into the empty gap within the desk.

There were no personal effects around the office. No picture frames, trinkets or even an out of place coffee mug full of pens and pencils. All that seemed to be around was what came with the office and what the woman needed to work. The only thing occupying the desk was the papers Bo had agreed to assist with. How anyone could accept, begrudgingly or not, the responsibility of correcting what had been three months' worth of work, and to it within 24 hours, was beyond her.

Before Bo could start over analyzing every sparse detail, the door handle clicked open and in walked Lauren, balancing two Styrofoam containers in one hand. Bo moved to close the door behind the blonde woman, thus allowing their lunch to reach the desk safely rather than ending up on the floor.

"I have no idea what you ordered." Lauren prided herself on understanding other cultures and engaging in them, but Tai food was one of the few unknowns and she now had to trust Bo had ordered something edible.

Bo took a second to take in the annoyed look on Lauren's face why the woman was staring down at the unopened containers. The confused tone in the woman's voice brought a smile to Bo's lips, which she quickly tried to hide. "It is called Pad Thai. The dish is a great one to start with if you're not familiar withThai food as it is not overly spicy, if done right."

"What do you mean if done right?" The wide-eyed look on Lauren's face was something Bo wanted to remember. Crazy people in the ER, demanding Committee members, and a mountain of paperwork did not even seem faze Lauren but spicy food apparently terrified the blonde.

"Sometimes they do not blend the peppers and the sauce properly, which can make it a bit hot." Bo empathized the last word right as she stopped in front of the blonde. She was in no hurry to leave the personal space either, slowly picking up a set of plastic utensils, reaching for the bottle furthest from her and only retreating to the couch after a final warning. "Just be careful and don't keep eating if you can't handle the spice."

"Right." Lauren, picked up the remaining counter, tentatively, and grabbed her bottle of water before moving to sit behind the desk. The food smelled normal enough but instinct took over as her fork started poking at the dish and moving some of it around, hoping to uncover anything hazardous before she ate it. Concerned that she might look like a completely helpless fool laid low by a pepper, Lauren missed the amused look on Bo's face as a pair of sharply focused eyes that watched her slightly panicked movements.

After the show was over, and Lauren seemed satisfied she wasn't trying to kill her with lunch, Bo sat down on the couch, using the arm of it that was closest to the desk as a miniature table. Based on the first few bites the food was exactly what anyone ordering Thai food from a takeout restaurant in the city would expect. It passed the safety inspection and didn't entirely taste like the container it came in.

Looking over at the blonde, just to make sure the food was okay, Bo noticed that there seemed to be more poking and less eating again. "Is it too spicy or just generally awful?"

Lauren shot her head straight up, having almost forgotten that someone else was in the room. She must have looked like one of the patients suffering from paranoid delusions by the weird look the woman was giving her. It took a few seconds before someone turned on the lights and she was able to offer a reassuring response.

"No, the food is great." Intent on proving that point Lauren took several large bites of her food faster than anyone should because they will end up choking. After a couple minutes of drinking water and slight coughing the room returned to silence as they ate and worked on correcting the budget.

Bo was lost in trying to decipher the strange symbols Lauren claimed were letters and eating her food when she glanced back over to the enigma in the room. Instead of finding the senior attending with her brown eyes lost in similar paperwork, the woman was just staring at an unopened folder. She made an effort to ignore but after a couple more minutes there was just no getting around it.

"Okay. Obviously, you liked the food well enough and this is your office, so it can't be the setting. That means either I have done something since showing up that upset you or you really just like torturing your food and trying to read through a paper cover. Which is it?" The words came out harsher than intended but not being able to understand someone was really quite infuriating and Bo wanted some sign she hadn't mistaken the woman's actions not an hour earlier.

Lauren sighed as she sat folder next to the closed up container on the desk as she moved to the couch. "Can I ask you something?"

Bo was not sure that exchange really took place. She pretty much took the woman's head off and all she got in return was a rather meek question. Though if the blonde was that distracted by whatever was on her mind it made sense to at least let the question be asked.

"Sure. I am an open book." Trying not lot the sudden, intimate, proximity get to her Bo leaned back against the armrest of the couch, regaining some the distance Lauren had removed. There were a number of questions that Bo would like to hear, and a number that she expected, but she rather doubted it would be anything shocking.

"Do you and any of your exes get along?" Lauren loathed gossip, or talking behind someone's back, but she had overhead the exchange between Bo and Nadia earlier and it had stuck with her as a consequence of her actions that had now unfairly impacted someone else.

That was not a question that Bo was expecting, wanting or really felt anyone was justified in asking. "Despite what the gossip mill might have to say about it I have not slept with half the nurses in the ER over the last couple months why my boyfriend was kept waiting across town so someone could keep my hair back when Saturday night returned to haunt me Sunday morning." The comment was delivered without an ounce of anger, though it wasn't missing any sarcasm. Her personal life was not some mess of problems people could offer her their deepest sympathies on, even if it was technically getting to the problematic mess stage.

"I didn't mean it like it, I was just wondering because I know relationships can be tough and you've mentioned leaving a bad break up behind that sounded pretty serious." Lauren definitely felt like backing away and hiding in a hole somewhere. They really did not know each other well enough to be discussing personal details like that.

"Dyson, my ex, and I do fine now days. Distance and not working together any more helps." Just moving to the other side of the city and a new hospital might not seem like much, but for Bo it was a fresh start. "It's not perfect of course, but we can be in the same room without it being an issue."

There was no vocal response from Lauren, just a slight nod before the overstepping doctor prepared to get back to work.

For Bo she was not going to let it be that easy. "Crazy girlfriend didn't like you changing the locks?"

By the sudden absent of any movement, except a slight dropping of the jaw, there was a definite chance that Bo was getting better at getting underneath the perfect skin of the perfect doctor. "I found it strange sometimes just staying over at someone else's apartment a couple nights a week for the few months I tried it. The thought of having that shared existence as a lead into a permanent situation, waiting there every night, seems like it could be rather overwhelming."

"Living together is not all that different from dating someone for a while; there are subtle differences but mostly it just a continuation of the relationship with the added bonus of carpooling." Lauren responded with a lack of enthusiasm on the topic, which even surprised her a bit. No one had really asked how things were going with Nadia before their breakup but she never figured that her response if they did would have been that lackluster.

"What stayed the same? The bad habits? Irritating friends? Mind blowing sex?"

"Bo!" The admonishment was said rather quietly as Lauren felt her cheeks turn a slight hue of pink why shifting her eyes to the door, half expecting a group of people rushing into her office and wanting details.

"What?" Bo did her best to look innocent about what question drew the blonde's attention. Fortunately, she had gotten better at denial than when she first started working for Hale.

"My sex life, Doctor McCorrigan, is not something I discuss with colleagues over expense reports and lunch."

"I simply asked about the lack of changes Doctor Lewis. You mentioned discussing that one specific aspect of the relationship. Though, as a doctor, I could not live with myself if I did not inform you that sexual frustration, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems." Bo offered the advice as if the other woman was actually a patient, after all the only people to call her Doctor McCorrigan were patients and Hale. With Lauren it was different though, the precise pronunciation made it sort of hot.

Lauren found herself smiling as she once again found herself the target of smart-ass remarks from the brunette doctor. It was strange but she found being engaged in yet another odd conversation with the hospital's resident mystery woman a rather amusing highlight on her weekend.

"If you must know Doctor McCorrigan," Lauren noticed a slight shifting in the brunette that seemed out of place but ignored it as nothing more than the poor lumbar support from the couch starting to take its toll as she continued on. "All the bad habits seem to stay the same except the sex."

The department head could feel a weight come off her shoulders as she said those simple words. It was not really a big deal; but there still seemed to be a distance between her and Bo that Lauren had assumed would fade as the final boundary was crossed. She did not want to burden a colleague but the internal debate would have to settle for mental kicking her later for casually engaging with the woman to where she actually moved towards the couch without considering her actions. "I know there is nothing I can do about it, that I shouldn't be upset, but she blames me for everything falling apart and now she's started taking it out on other people."

Bo was nervously trying to press into the back of the couch even further as the woman seemed to learn towards, despite there being no chance of contact even at their current distance. "Like random doctors that show up to take you out for lunch?" Why the other woman suddenly wanted to talk about her personal life, had to sit closer in order to have that conversation, or made her jumpy in general, Bo could not understand.

"On my way to pick up the food I stopped by the front desk to let her know her behavior towards you was unprofessional and it would not happen again. It's been five months and I've tried everything to make it better, to allow us to be friends, but"

"Even when she seems to hate you, there is something beneath that, like she's not going to be happy unless you take the clingy bitch back." The interruption got a smile out of Lauren, whom to Bo suddenly thought mist just jump off the couch, or jump on her, to celebrate the obvious conclusion to her own thoughts.

"Exactly. I always made the gesture to try to put any possible time we could have together above anything else, but I wasn't going to quit my job." Not only was it her work that had kept their condo paid for, something that she rarely brought up as it always started a fight, but Lauren enjoyed what she did, even on days when it meant triple shifts.

"Well, in all fairness to your ex, you did cohabitate and that usually suggests you intend to get married at some point. Once that happens people change and they start expecting you to meet all of their expectations because they assume you are ready for that change as well." Bo had pegged the nurse as the crazy kind of people, adding that to having lived together and she was impressed Lauren hadn't filled a restraining order against the woman.

"Spent a lot of time studying the ancient ritual of marriage?" Lauren was definitely annoyed that the younger, probably only had one serious relationship from what she could tell, brunette would defend Nadia's behavior and criticize that she had not done enough to address it.

"Not marriage but being the only woman usually not taking her clothes off at bachelor parties has offered some interesting insights." The look that followed from Lauren had a strange little glint about it that Bo had not seen before.

That little comment had intrigued Lauren. Normally she did not hear more than a few words about the duckling's past and none of them from the source. "What exactly does usually mean Doctor McCorrigan?"

"You can stop calling me Doctor McCorrigan at any time. My parents did actually give me a first name and it wasn't Doctor, or Bo technically, but Bo is just easier to pronounce." Bo was going to do her damndest to steer away from that slip up about a stupid mistake. It was not even something she had told Dyson, not fully anyways, and it was not anywhere near appropriate for a conversation over lunch with a colleague. A different topic, any topic, except that one, would be good right now.

"Okay, Bo, what is the story behind you only usually keeping your clothes on at bachelor parties?" It did seem like a strange subject to be hung up on but a chance to learn something embarrassing about the brunette was an opportunity Lauren didn't want to pass up.

"It was just a stupid incident that happened during my residency." Bo did her best to focus on the report in her lap hoping Lauren, like everyone else, would eventually give up.

"Why so embarrassed? Did you not get any tips?"

"Why so interested in what it takes to get my clothes off?" Lauren asking annoying questions was something she could ignore easily enough. However, suggesting she could not part drunken idiots from their cash under any circumstance, let alone if she was trying to when she did not have any actual clothes on, was crossing a line Bo could not let stand.

"What?" The blush that swept up through Lauren's cheeks had to be borderline dangerous as it caused a sudden rise in temperature.

"It is a simple question Lauren. Why do you want to hear about me being half naked so badly?"

Lauren was going crimson by the time a stuttered response came out of her mouth. "I…uh…no I didn't mean…it was just…uh…you said it and I thought…well it just…"

Bo moved further down the couch, getting closer to the blonde as the incomplete rambling stopped in favor of Lauren just looking down at the floor.

"The next time you have a question you want to ask about my personal life, remember that we ended this conversation with you wanting details about me in an undressed state." There was that flash in those brown eyes as the blonde glanced over and despite, or perhaps because of, that look, Bo knew she had to end the game before something happened.

"Now, let us get back to work before we end up staying here all night." Quickly moving back to her abandoned seat, and paper work, Bo still smiled, despite her concerns, at the slow reaction of Lauren to do the same.

As the hours passed in relative silence, only the occasional few sentences over something work related, the two actually managed to finish the reports. Despite the questionable food, and unquestionably interesting conversation, by the late evening Bo definitely felt like going home. Her back hurt from sitting upright, her head pained from all the stupid numbers and she was certain she had developed asthma as every now as her chest would tighten. The last had to be the most aggravating of the problems as it seemed to come up right when Lauren would be asking her something, not the questions really, but just the sound of the woman's voice rattled her. Fortunately, it seemed to go unnoticed by her colleague.

By the time they reached the exterior side of the hospital entranceway, with the reports safely prepared for tomorrow, it had been over six hours since Bo had arrived. Of course given the time spent on waiting for lunch, talking about matters that had nothing to do with work and her having to decipher Lauren's hand writing it had not exactly been six hours of solid effort.

"Thank You for your help today. I did not think I would finish before tomorrow's deadline. Now, I can go home, get dinner and sleep in my own bed." The workload hadn't been split entirely even, but certainly the younger doctor had been of serious help and Lauren had to admit she regretted not entrusting the woman with more responsibilities.

"No worries Doctor Lewis." Bo wasn't sure where they stood with each other and on reflex had reverted back to a professional tone. There was something about the blonde though that triggered other instincts, baser instincts, and she had to control them, she couldn't afford to lose her job over another disastrous office romance.

"I thought we established Doctor wasn't a first name, Bo?" Lauren smiled as the brunette rolled her eyes, clearly not used to being on the receiving end of her own sarcasm. "I suppose I'll see you at work."

"Assuming the ER doesn't get shut down because of someone's shoddy record keeping." Satisfied with getting one last shot in against Lauren, who seemed to be able to verbally spare with the best of them, Bo glanced at the darkened parking lot trying to remember what space her car occupied.

"I'll ignore that last comment, instead of dragging you back in there to show you my dedicated filing system, because, thanks to you, I get to go take a nice hot bubble bath." Lauren wasn't sure where the trust between them came from, but she felt comfortable enough to hug the other woman before they parted ways. "My cab is probably waiting. Have a good night Bo."

Bo felt a sudden shiver run down her spine, which must have been from the complete lack of a breeze or the not sudden dropping temperatures, as those words rang in her head and a pair of arms wrapped around her for a second. It had to be the world's shortest hug, yet, by the time her eyes moved from the car door in the distance, Lauren was out of sight. There was something about a cab ride floating around in her head but the thought was lost to random words still trying to form sentences in reply. By the time she reached the car, Bo knew she would have to keep the roof down for the duration of the drive and there would be no risking a hot shower.


	5. Chapter 5

Bo walked into the ER with a coffee in hand and a smile on her face. For the past week, she had felt surprisingly content and found that the days at work went by easier than before. She had even set her alarm for earlier than usual lately to make sure she had the extra time to do put up her hair, find an outfit she really liked and add some extra touches of makeup. Admittedly, it was an odd thing to do. Working in the ER she would see her patients for a few minutes each, at most, before passing them off to someone else.

Even the various idiots coming in with medical emergencies that exceeded what seemingly any intelligent creature would do to themselves seem to lessen. In fact her initial checking of patients found only a man needing bits of glass removed from his body after wife turned out to be the jealous type and why pulling shards from someone that stupid offered a certain reward she wanted something more significant.

Unfortunately, after ten minutes of searching, the sick and injured of weren't cooperating. A junkie that was three days out from their last fix seemed like the most demanding case that the ER had. As soon as she closed the folder on the junkie, Bo noticed a familiar presence standing next to her.

"A new patient just checked in and I thought you might want to take a look." Lauren held out the folder and her breath hitched as Bo's fingers brushed over her own. Since having lunch together, Lauren had noticed here had been something different about their interactions, and at least for her, it had the side effect of make breathing a more difficult task. It remained a mystery to her if Bo had any issue with their contact. Simply thinking about it was often more than she nerves could handle, but the thought of what either answer would mean to her life had occupied much of her thoughts over the last week.

Bo was far from immune to the recent developments, if anything she seemed to have absolutely no resistance to the sensation. The mere presence of Lauren within her personal space was enough to make her head spin and her mouth to go dry. Trying to focus on something else, like the file she had yet to open, seemed to be the only way she got through the day. By the looks of the patient notes, there was enough unexplained mystery to keep her busy for the rest of the day, which was good because the ER attending was looking particularly ravishing with her hair curled.

"See something interesting?" Lauren found herself smiling as she enjoyed the rare opportunity to study the younger doctor; noticing how the woman's eyebrows tightened, or how she would go back and forth between notes, as if trying to diagnosis the man's condition before she even got started.

"Very." Before eye contact could even be established Bo took in a deep breath why ignoring the part of her brain that was screaming at her to do the smart thing and avoid the woman for the rest of her existence. To her own surprise, Bo found Lauren already staring at her. Those bright brown eyes never flinched when she stared into them, pissing off every logical neural pathway she had in the process. She shouldn't be relishing the warmth from being this close to the other woman, she shouldn't be returning that kind smile and she definitely shouldn't be feeling her pulse quickening at the scent of the woman's perfume, but she was and it would have taken a freight train crashing through the hospital to get her to stop.

"Anything else I should know?" Bo found the words left her as if they were the first she had ever spoken. At least they would be talking though. If they talked it might remind her that the woman came over about a patient and not so she could take the small step into the blonde's personal space, wrap her arm around her waist and lock their lips together until hell froze over, at which time she be sure to keep Lauren warm.

Lauren just stood there, connected to Bo through some invisible tether in another dimension, dragged away from reality simply by the change in Bo's eyes. They were bright and relaxed when Lauren first saw them, but they sharpened over the eternity she had spent looking into them and there was a dangerous glint that wasn't helping her capacity to breathe. The question remained unanswered.

Taking a step to the side, putting herself closer to Bo's curvy frame, which looked amazing in a generously cut top and skinny jeans with the lab coat settling as if it was inviting her to step in so Bo could enclose them both in it, Lauren brushed her fingers over Bo's hand. There was a pleasant surprise when those brown eyes never lost their hold and as they brightened Lauren felt Bo's fingers reaching for her wrist to pull her forward when reality kicked in.

Bo heard the crash of something metal hitting the floor and actually jumped, which had the unfortunate side effect of physically separating her from Lauren.

"Well, umm, I better go make sure everything is okay. I am sure all the information is there in the chart, patient is over in bed six." Lauren went to do that thing she had said, or something that wasn't Bo anyways, and ignored the surprised look on the woman's face.

It wasn't exactly a freight train, but reality still hit home like a bitch. The hospital raced back into focus and the woman in pink scrubs was gone, leaving behind the quickest pair of sentences Bo had ever heard. It was stupid to be so caught up on someone she couldn't have, especially when it was a woman she was working for.

Putting her own awkward personal life aside Bo reviewed the chart for her patient quickly before finding the bed he was in and starting her day. Focusing on work and putting the rest to the back of her mind was the smart thing to do. Although, given where being a cautious 4/7 had gotten her grandfather, maybe being stupid once and awhile wouldn't be such a bad thing. Bo spared one last look towards the retreating blonde before heading towards bed six.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUWAHAHAHA, pure doccubus tension! Okay so this is sort of a Part 1 of a 2 Part chapter. The second part will take place later on in the day and sets up a really big moment for our favorite LG ladies.


	6. Chapter 6

Lauren found herself starting off the new month the same way she had ended the previous one, with her head on her a hard surface. Before the sheer exhaustion of endless days filled with patients eager to find new ways of harming themselves with mundane tasks finally overtook her. Skipping meals, not sleeping, ignoring any regulated exercise routine, it was bound to cause a problem eventually.

Tonight though it was more about enjoying a moment to herself. Despite the constant worrying that something was going to go wrong, like another budget fiasco, Lauren had found an enthusiasm at the end of each day to return for the next. Something had changed in the environment and it wasn't just fewer patients threatening to sue the doctors and fewer doctors threatening to quit either.

Still, being able to shut the door, put her head down and close her eyes for a while was not an opportunity she was going to pass up. As her phone made an obnoxious buzzing sound against the wooden desk the thought of shoving the noisy device into one of the drawers crossed her mind, only to fade as the sound no longer harassed her. Peaceful silence was a rare event in the ER and whatever the phone call was would only serve to disrupt that. For now, all that mattered was that nothing mattered. She had no patient that had ended up with a steel pipe shoved through their leg, or ignored the cough until blood start coming up, and even the papers that still covered her desk would only take a few minutes to file away. Her thoughts then turned to Bo and how close they were getting, literally at times like this morning.

In their time spent together over the recent weeks Lauren had gotten to know the brunette better but all of it felt like she had just skimmed the surface of an ocean. Humans, by their very nature, are complex creatures but Bo seemed genuinely more complicated than most and it was hard to deny a certain fascination with that complexity. Rarely had she met someone that seemed like they could move through a crowd of people without ever noticing anyone was around them at all yet there were few times when someone had shown her such kindness during just random moments in her life. Why firmly believing most people are good people they are not all that considerate except for that moment when they find out about her brother, when she lost a patient, after she saved a patient or if they want a favor. With Bo there did not seem to be anything of a motive, just a genuine interest to help.

Anytime she tried to offer thanks, and to make things even, the younger doctor gained the lead over her with another thoughtful gesture. Even buying lunch for them was a gift the younger doctor could not accept as by the time Lauren returned to work on Tuesday morning a mysterious benefactor had put the lunch total on her cafeteria account.

It was not that people had never bought her breakfast before, mostly they seemed to believe it would help them get time off, or a better shift, but they had never done it without being in the same room and letting her know first. There was a certain charm to the whole thing that made her smile; despite an odd disappointment that the brunette wasn't standing there, ready to take credit with some smart remark.

When a knock on her office door interrupted her thoughts on the recent events she could not even respond before the bright lights of the ER flooded her office. Lowering her head to the desk, hoping to block out the offensive attack on her senses, the door quickly closed again but it was too late to avoid the damage.

"Lauren?" The blonde had not moved her head off the desk, or said anything. Bo figured those smiling brown eyes would greet her as the woman poured over paper work but after she opened the door nothing happened and suddenly concern was not a strong enough word for what was coursing through her veins. After an ungodly wait, she finally saw Lauren lift up her head, though that did not make breathing any easier.

Fully intent to remind whomever it was that it was rude to enter without being welcomed Lauren instead found that upon seeing the familiar brunette hair, and unmistakable confidence, the only thing she really could have been happier to see was dinner and a glass of wine. She had expected to see more of Bo after their day together but they rarely seemed to spend time in the same place and passing each other in the hallways why running to help a patient did not seem like a great time to chat. It was nice to have a visitor seeing as Kenzi left in a hurry after being caught up in the chaos of a busy OR. Not that it made a real difference to her schedule. "Sorry. I was just resting for a few minutes why things were quiet."

"And yet you're at your desk, which implies intent to keep working, instead of lying on the couch, which would suggest your plans involve sleeping." As if to prove a point, the uninvited brunette walked over to the couch and collapsed on it. It wasn't the world's greatest couch, but Bo already had some fond memories of it.

"Yes. How foolish of me not to ignore my responsibilities when obviously the hospital put a couch in my office because they wanted patient files updated a month after a patient leaves us." Lauren had come to recognize that the younger doctor wasn't just a pretty face, but she was smart, kind to others, and very resourceful. Unfortunately none of those traits transferred to doing her own paperwork.

"I am sure no one is going to die if you do not confirm that they suffered a broken leg in the next twelve hours." Honestly it wasn't like she didn't chart down the important things so a nurse didn't accidentally kill one of her patients, but filling out paperwork that said everything worked out and no one had accidentally killed anyone just sounded stupid and Bo hated doing it.

"Kenzi, is that you? I would have sworn Doctor McCorrigan walked in here." Lauren hadn't made it a point to introduce the two women, partly because it seemed weird to present Bo to her best friend as if they were dating but mainly because there was only so much sarcasm she could tolerate.

"Laugh it up blondie but I am the one that is going to sleep on your couch why you are sitting in an uncomfortable office chair. If you're nice though I'll make room and we can share." Bo felt the world outside the office slipping away and the cushions supported her tired muscles. A pretty blonde to wrap her arms around though would top things off nicely.

"Go find a room in the clinic to sleep in like a normal ER doctor, or, better yet, go get coffee and find a patient to treat. It is a hospital so I am sure there is at least one sick person to keep you occupied until your shift is over." Honestly it was as if she had somehow managed to make friends with Kenzi's long-lost, older, stunningly beautiful, sister and Lauren wasn't sure where she would fit in if the two of them hit if off.

"My shift is over and I prefer your office to a clinic room." Well, technically she preferred Lauren's company compared to anything else the hospital had to offer, but Bo wasn't one to split hairs.

"Oh and why is that?" Lauren tried not to panic. Bo wasn't going to say anything ridiculous like she was in love with her. She was just being nice.

"Probably because Hale told me no one was to work past their shift tonight. Instead, we are all supposed to go home as scheduled. There was something about the second shift actually showing up on time and swapping clinics hours for help in the ER or something." Bo did notice that the other woman seemed more on edge than usual, but the warmth of the couch was distracting her.

"No. Why is my office better than a clinic room if you are just going to crash somewhere?" Lauren was still multitasking through the conversation, as the stack of files had get finished despite the obvious attempts to bring an end to the organizing. Bo's idea of multitasking on the other hand extended seemed involve talking and trying to get in the ideal spot on the couch.

Watching out of the corner of her eye the department head continued to try to figure out if Bo had a purpose for showing up when the words registered. "Wait. Hale is sending everyone home on time and you did not start our conversation with that fact?"

Bo did not give an immediate response but Lauren's serious tone, about what seemed to her like a minor issue, made her smile. "Well I meant to but I'm tired from walking over here and opening the door. Besides I am telling you now."

"Then you will be especially tired when you have to walk out of here since there is no way I am letting you sleep in office." It was not a matter of trust but compassion that made Lauren want to make sure the brunette would not be lingering around afterwards. The couch seemed comfortable for the first few hours but she knew from experience it would not be such a good idea by the morning. "And did he say this before, or after, the six car pileup resulted in minimal injuries?"

"It was a few minutes after. A nurse started walking towards his office at that point and he did not stick around to go over the details. I have never seen a man run that fast in a suit without being chased by the police for robbing a tailor." Bo had met the charming pharmaceutical heir in med school when he was rebelling against his family by actually going into the medical field. It still ranked as one of the most ridiculous things she had ever heard, but they got along and he didn't ask why she wanted to move and work at the hospital after things with Dyson fall apart.

Missing Bo's joke about their boss and ignoring the thought that going home early did not sound as appealing as curling up on the couch with Bo, Lauren mulled the two ideas over a few times. Neither seemed like the best solution for the ER, given what usually happened five minutes after everyone decided to take a break, though if the shift doctors were actually showing up than there was no real reason to stay.

"If you want to get something to eat I know a place that has the best pasta in the city, assuming you have never had pasta anywhere else in the city." Bo wasn't sure what she had just said, or why, but she could feel her heart stop as she waited for a response.

"As tempting as that is, I think I'll let you get home. I am going to call Kenzi and tell her if she stops hiding out in the longue playing video games why pretending to still be in surgery there is a meal in it for her. We haven't had a lot of time together and it seems a lot of that is because of my time in the ER." Looking over at the brunette Lauren relaxed upon seeing that same half a smile there that had been present since the woman walked in. Just the thought of disappointing Bo felt unsettling. She was hoping her tiny roommate might prove useful in helping her figure out just what she should do about her coworker.

"Sounds like a plan. We can find some other time to get dinner when cracked skulls from a couple having too much fun have not been preventing seeing the inside of your apartment. Don't let Kenzi get in the way of doing some headboard banging of your own either though." Bo smirked at Lauren as she got up to leave. The woman flustered so easily about sex that she had to take advantage of it. It's not as if she wasn't being sincere. Hell she was practically volunteering.

A completely red look spread throughout her cheeks as the increased blood brought the definite feeling that the room had gotten several degrees warmer suddenly. By the time she was recovering well enough to look at the brunette again all she saw was a door nearly shut. It seemed that even after embarrassing her, the mysterious woman was not beyond redeeming that with the considerate act of leaving her to her own personal affairs, but Lauren wasn't going to let her get away with it again. "How about the three of us go out to dinner next week? You and Kenzi could finally mock me at the same time and it would save me from having to repeat all the stupid jokes you make." The first time she had done was harmless enough, just venting to Kenzi about a challenging patient, but slowly something Bo had said, or done, seemed to be more and more relevant to her own day.

"Sure. Sounds fun." With that Bo closed the door. To anyone walking by she must look like a complete idiot. Between the stupid grin on her face and holding on to doorknob to the office for dear life, they might even her mistake her for someone who had skipped their medication that day. It was an odd feeling, having her offer declined by Lauren only to get something different in return. Not good, or bad, but different. Pulling her phone out with one hand Bo noted three missed calls before ignoring them all and looking at the most recently dialed numbers. At the top of the list was Lauren's number, the same number she had tried to call minutes earlier.

All Lauren had to do was answer her phone, than she could have continued to the exit without both ignoring Hale's request that Lauren get everyone, including herself, to clock out on time for once or feeling like a bitch for leaving Lauren working in her office without any idea she could go home. If it had just been a phone call than she would have never made the offer she wouldn't have a weird, maybe, sort of, with a third wheel, date thing.

Letting go with the doorknob and moving towards the exit seemed like a reasonable thing to do under the circumstances but she wasn't ready to call it quits. Fortunately her car was in the parking lot and that meant that within a few minutes she could be at a favorite watering hole, miles from the hospital. Tonight she was going to celebrate.

Lauren took her time to finish the papers and properly get the ER in order after Bo left. She had put aside her personal excitement during the tasks, but as soon as she dialed one on her speed dial and waited for the Kezni to pick up it came back. Still smiling to herself like an idiot, she did her best to sound normal at least when she heard a familiar fake accent come through.


	7. Chapter 7

With her day officially over and the various patients alive for a little longer, Bo found herself sitting in her car with her phone in hand instead of actually going anywhere. There were those words just staring back at her. When did a question about her plans for the night ever give her pause before?

Yes they had taken on that pitied quality after she broke things off with Dyson that left her annoyed, but that was solved by a strong drink. Yet now that it actually sounded like a friendly invitation, in text form where no sound could be heard except for the memory of Lauren's voice, it left her like a deer in the headlights.

Closing off the message and finding the name at the top of her contact list the hesitation threatened to overtake her again, but a simple tap on the screen cemented the decision. It was past the reasonable hour most people called someone, let alone someone she was just getting to know, but there was no one else for to really her to talk to who wouldn't freak out when she ordered something with a high percentage of alcohol in it.

The silence in between the rings seemed to last an exceedingly long time, though the wait was over before it could truly begin. With a simple hello from Lauren, someone she kept telling herself she wasn't going to fall for, her night suddenly got a whole lot better.

"Hey, how do you like free drinks?" Bo felt her head hit the steering wheel. That was not how she wanted to start the conversation.

Lauren felt a smile forming on her lips immediately upon seeing Bo McCorrigan displayed on her caller I.D. and she was thrilled that Kenzi wasn't around to see the effects of actually hearing the other woman's voice. "I am doing great Bo, thank you for asking. How was your day?"

"I said hello and I am offering to buy you a drink. That is more than most people get." Bo could hear a small laugh come over the phone and suddenly her head wasn't against the steering wheel. She needed this after the last few days.

"Well since you're doing the buying I would love a drink." However, despite being on what was supposed to be a vacation from the stress, Lauren didn't have a clue as to any of the bars in the area.

"Great. Put some clothes on and bring Kenzi with you. I need to change, but I'll text you the address and see you in an hour." Bo hadn't wanted their first sort-of date thing to be at a bar, but she wanted to see Lauren and Kenzi was clearly someone important to the woman. There were closer places, and ones with less history, but it would be easier to charm the best friend on familiar ground.

Lauren felt herself blush at the comment despite the fact she was well clothed, wearing a sweater and pj shorts, for someone sitting in the room of their own apartment. As the line went silent though, she put the book she had been reading aside and left the room to pry Kenzi away from the TV.

Bo put her phone away after sending off the quick text. A smile on her face appearing for the first time in the last two days. The idea that seeing her grandfather again had kept her from seeing anyone she knew for months, but Lauren was the one person that made everything seem all right and whatever it cost to have that in her life would be worth it.

Starting up her car and thinking up the quickest route there from her apartment was the easy part. The problem came five minutes after she started driving when it occurred to her that she had only the vaguest idea of what they were going to talk about when she got to the bar as she didn't know much about Kenzi and Lauren wasn't just some hookup she took home after shots and a round on the mechanical bull type.

That doubt stayed with her even when over an hour later Bo had found herself in the parking lot of the Dal Riata and five minutes later crossed the threshold of the bar. It was a weird time where it was either too late, or too early, for most people to come to the aging bar, leaving it occupied mostly by empty stools at the bar and plenty of tables with a view.

It took Lauren about five seconds from the door opening to reveal a goddess in leather pants and a v-neck top for her to be out of the booth and taking a few steps towards the brunette, barely noticing Kenzi making whipping noises as she focused on Bo. It wasn't that romantic moment where their eyes lock and her heart flutters before Bo sweeps her into her arms like the movies Kenzi made her watch as revenge for trying to introduce the small Russian into the wonder of Star Trek. In fact Bo reminded her a lot more of some poor soul on an away mission they didn't want to be on with a look like she was going to bolt out the door if there was a loud noise.

For whatever reason Lauren wanted romcom at that moment more than classic scifi and walked across the floor until she was standing in front of Bo. Up close it was clear the anxiety was in control of the woman and Lauren knew complete panic would set in any second followed by hyperventilating and disorientation. Placing a hand on the woman's arm, she offered Bo a smile and made certain Bo was looking at her before pulling her gently into a hug.

They were in clear view of where Kenzi had settled in, and refused to move until drunk off free booze, so she would be hearing about her "groping" Bo for a week from her roommate, but what mattered was a gorgeous brunette had her arms wrapped around her. The contact lasted long enough that the people at the bar were probably assuming they were getting a free show and Lauren was content to let them think that right up until Bo started nuzzling her neck and a pair of hands were definitely not offering spinal support.

It hit her nervous system like a jolt of electricity and Lauren literally separated herself from her colleague like the woman was a livewire. Based on the smile and the way her eyes were suddenly studying her though, Lauren felt certain that was exactly what Bo was and the only way she was going to survive was to make sure she was grounded. "Now Doctor McCorrgian, it is unprofessional to take advantage of my courteous nature and I expect better of you in the future." It was a good natured admonishment and Lauren certainly wasn't going to complain too much, though she would have never imagined her reaction to an intimate moment with someone she hadn't been on a date with why a couple dozen strangers watched would have been so calm when she wasn't even fond of holding hands in public.

"But Doctor Lewis I haven't even begin to take advantage of you or your courteous nature." Bo knew was pushing limits, but the way the oh so confident and take charge Lauren blushed and tried not to smile was too tempting to pass up.

"Right, well, umm, we have a booth." She knew what Bo was doing, it was the same thing she had been doing for a while based on Kenzi's take of their strange encounters, but that didn't make it any easier for Lauren to manage the side effects.

"Lead the way." Bo waited until the blonde was a few steps in front of her before following along. Of course it wouldn't have been hard to spot a booth with a small, dark haired, woman sitting alone in it, but she didn't want to pass on a chance for the view directly ahead of her. There was no question Lauren looked amazing when being all professional in a long white coat, or saving lives decked out head to toe in scrubs, but neither was quite as good as the ridiculously tight jeans Bo noticed she was wearing tonight.

"Bo this is-" Before Lauren could finish the introductions suddenly there was a miniature surgeon between her and Bo.

"I'm Kenzi, the third wheel here for the free drinks and with no interest in visiting the island of Lesbos or getting trapped on the inside of the booth when you two turn this night of respectable vodka shots into a scene from The L Word." Kenzi never refused a free drink, especially when it would be followed by several of its friends, but this Bo suddenly offering a night out getting sloshed was highly suspect.

"Well in that case the next time I make travel plans to Greece you are welcome to stay with the jet on the mainland." Bo felt the weight of the hospital slip away as she settled into the padded seat with Lauren directly across from her. The calls and texts had made for a nice transition since their last encounter at the hospital, but it wasn't the same as actually seeing the ER attendant, especially when the woman was wearing a grey button-up top.

"Wait. Seriously? You have your plane? Because if you do that might just put you in the running to be my new bff." Kenzi hadn't met anyone that had a private plane, though a guy she dated for a while told her he did but that turned out to mean he just worked at the airport.

"Well that is good to know Kenzi. For now just drink up and order whatever food sounds good and don't worry about the bill." Bo had been joking about the jet, she was still amazed Trick managed to keep the Dal open, but free drinks she could do.

"Bo that's not necessary." Lauren knew the brunette's general financial situation from observation and Hale mentioning that the brunette had worked two jobs all through college despite her family having a few of them named after them when trying to ease her concerns over hiring someone that had just finished their an internship for an ER position. The job did not pay that well and covering Kenzi's tab for a night could easily cost someone more than a late 19th century version of Gray's Anatomy with a good spine.

"I insist Lauren. I picked the place and made you drive out here, this is the least I could do." For months she couldn't bring herself to visit the Dal and it was oddly calming to return knowing Lauren was there with her. "Besides I'll just clear it with the bartender before we leave so you don't have to worry about your free lunches stopping any time soon."

"Free food and drinks means either really good blackmail sex or really good protection racket, which one is it?" Given on a daily basis how many pairs of eyes at the hospital followed Bo's ass like it was a tray of jello shots anyone else might have taken the safe bet of sex, but Kenzi wasn't foolish enough to pick red just because everyone else did. In fact she had checked around and Lauren seemed to be the only one likely to get her own hands on the jiggly goodness. As such Kenzi had to consider the possibility now that Capo Chesty had some serious mafia ties and was taking the whole mob doctor thing a little too far.

"Kenzi!" Lauren felt truly mortified and immediately regretted not leaving her best friend back at the apartment. "I'm sorry Bo, but she's done talking now. Aren't you Kenzi?"

"Hey, one of us has to be looking out for you and given where your eyes keep drifting it sure as hell isn't going to be you." As the best friend Kenzi had sacrificed many a night of gaming why being epically drunk to solve LoLo's BoBo's problem and all she got out of it was Lauren constantly bringing up that Bo was nice, and pretty, and prone to traffic infractions because of being on the phone too much.

"It's fine Lauren. I can see what the similarities you were talking about." Despite having her character questioned, Bo rather liked that Lauren had a friend that was so worried about her. Between the way Lauren talked about her, and how the mini-surgeon seemed to scare most of the hospital staff, she had actually been looking forward to meeting the best friend and clearing that hurdle.

"Really? I'm surprised LoLo here managed to tell you anything. Since the ring went off her finger she has had a tendency to be the world's most awkward doc around anything with a v down beneath." Kenzi was mainly focused on the waitress completely ignoring them still even as awkward silence took over the booth.

"Go order us some drinks from the bar Kenz." If she was really lucky Lauren figured her small roommate wouldn't return to the table until she had consumed enough alcohol that the woman's future attempts to ruin her life would be done in slurred Russian.

"Why? It's so far and shouldn't we be getting the VIP treatment given Don Corleone here has some in with the owner?" Waiting for an explanation, and waitress, Kenzi wasn't going to be chased off because the two of them wanted to play doctor. It wasn't until after she watched the redhead with menus literally go out of her way to avoid them before vanishing behind a closed door that she noticed the lovebirds were focused on her. "Umm what's up docs?"

"Kenzi, that waitress isn't going to come get our order." Lauren tried to keep her voice even, but fighting the urge to shove napkins in Kenzi's mouth was requiring a great deal of her concentration.

"Yeah, I can see that Lauren. You know I swear sometimes you think those legs and that hair of yours give you super vision, but I to can witness someone that doesn't want a tip not bringing over trays of wonderful free shots." Kenzi kept her head turned towards the bar, envisioning the lovely bottles just sitting there, going to waste, when she had a golden ticket to an all you can drink buffet.

"Kenzi, if you go tell the bartender to everything on the McCorrigan tab, including anything from the family and friends shelf, he'll serve you right there." It took a few seconds, but Bo finally saw the woman give in to a curiosity about free top shelf liquor.

"Fine, but if this is prank you better not even think about stepping into the OR again unless you want to donate a kidney." Kenzi made a slicing motion through the air like she had a scalpel and then headed off to see just how much the woman valued her kidney.

"Bo." Lauren wanted for those brown eyes of the gorgeous brunette to find her own, but the woman seemed intent on staring at the bar. "I was going to tell you eventually. Even if you hadn't called tonight. No matter-" Lauren stopped. She wasn't like the leather clad brunette. Her life history didn't come in an open book. "Kenzi was one of the few people to know and the relationship ended so shortly after that there wasn't even an official announcement."

"Trust me that was not how I wanted to find out you had been engaged." Bo focused on Lauren, trying to understand how she couldn't have mentioned the ex-girlfriend was an ex-fiancé. Of course Lauren's best friend would be a perfect source of information for details about past relationships and it was tempting to go over and load the surgeon up with free shots and find out more about the department head, but Bo wanted to hear it from Lauren herself. To have known she earned that trust. "Can we talk about it?"

Lauren nodded her response to the question. Thanks to Kenzi's impromptu revelation there really wasn't much of a choice as the only alternative was to avoid Bo and that she wasn't willing to do. Not that she could even think of where to start.

"How about I get us some drinks first?" Bo know there were details of her own life she would have to explain, but if she didn't want to do that sober it was a safe Lauren didn't want to drag her own skeletons of the closest without some liquid courage.

"Yes!" Alcohol would help, as would that smile of Bo's at her obviously overly eager response, and Lauren welcomed both. "I'd like that. Thank you."

Bo found Kenzi at the bar with two empty shot glasses already in front of her, but didn't see a need to say anything.

"So she hadn't told you about the near miss with a gold band huh?" Getting only a shake of the head from the new lady in Lauren's life, Kenzi took another shot.

"She's been through a lot. Not just with Nadia either. She won't talk about it all at once. No matter how much close it seems she gets to spilling every secret after half a bottle of Grey Goose there is something that holds them back, but if your patient she'll tell you about them eventually." Kenzi wasn't sold on Bo being Lauren's one and only, but if the woman who should get paid by the city for stopping traffic at intersections wanted to hang around Kenzi figured she deserved a head's up.

"Thank you for the warning, but I can live with complicated." Bo's words drew a slight, already on the way to drunk, smile from the small surgeon as she raised a filled shot glass to her before drinking it down.

"Just so you know my family owns this place. Has for generations." When the bartender resurfaced, undoubtedly hiding from Kenzi based on the weary look on his face when he noticed the now four empty glasses, Bo managed to get a couple drinks of her own in hand and started heading back towards Lauren, enjoying the sudden sounds of excitement coming from behind her as Kenzi started rambling off an extreme drink order.

When Bo got back to the table there was something almost domestic about Lauren waiting for her, like she was at their home and Bo had come from work and after dumping off an arm full of groceries fixed them drinks to start off their night. Not that she would ever insist Lauren stay home, but for the days that allowed it the two of them could just cuddle on a couch and enjoy a glass of a wine.

It had been years since she thought about a home with a white picket fence, but Lauren seemed to fit into her future perfectly. Not that it was just all sitting around and book clubs. No. She wanted to travel as well and why she didn't know how Lauren felt about suburbia, she knew the woman had done relief work in Asia and Africa.

"Bo, you're supposed to set the drinks down at the customer's table after you bring them over." For the second time that night Lauren watched as Bo slipped into her own world, but this time the woman had a smile on her face instead of a look of sheer panic.

"Sorry. I thought I saw the world renowned Doctor Lewis for a minute and I got a little star struck." Bo did actually set the drinks down though before settling in across from said doctor.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a terrible flirt?" Lauren had heard the phrase 'world renowned' used a few times by her collogues like they were hoping for reward. When Bo said it though she rather liked it.

"Nope. They were too busy expediting my lab tests and getting my patients at the top of the waiting list for the imaging suite." Bo felt no shame in combining a little harmless flirting with patient care and she always made sure to never put anyone that seemed to desperately need results below her own patients. Besides if more doctors treated the support staff with some basic human kindness her efforts wouldn't be so effective.

"Another smartass remark. You're sure you and Kenzi aren't related?" Lauren had watched the brief exchange between the two as best she could, but wasn't sure how it went until seeing Bo's smile and Kenzi leaning halfway over the bar gesturing wildly at the poor bartender.

"So that theory would be awesomeness separated at birth?" Bo understood how Kenzi could grow on a person, much like the way moss grows on a tree the tree might not have asked for it but it becomes impossible to imagine life any other way.

"You left out you both have a pension for tardiness." Lauren was certain they were going to be late by the time she looked as if she had any business sitting across from the brunette and made the drive to the bar. Instead they had enough time to get waters and aggravate the waitress's impatience by declining anything else three times before Bo arrived.

"Well if I had known you would try to get into jeans that tight just on my behalf I might have driven faster." As curious as Bo was about Lauren's past, she was more interested in being a part of the woman's future. The Nadia thing could wait and it wasn't as if a few skeletons from her closest couldn't use a dusting off when they got to the point.

Having settled into the comfortable booth and taken to stirring the drink in front of her, Lauren could feel a burning creeping into her cheeks and remembered just how much she enjoyed the woman's presence. Still, it was several rather unsophisticated gulps from the drink before she had the nerve to respond, which, as like before, Bo seemed perfectly willing to wait for. "They were the only thing I had to wear that Kenzi approved of. I wasn't expecting to have to get dressed up."

Had she caught the great and mighty Lauren lounging? Well, that was too good to pass up. "You didn't need to get dressed on my account." Bo entangled the blonde's fingers in her own, wanting the physical contact she had been desperately missing as she purposely left a word.

Lauren felt the blush sweep through her face as her ears were burning. The quickly vanishing drink did seem to help calm her nerves, but did nothing to remove the smug smirk from Bo's face. Though if that was how it was going to be though, two could play that game.

Swirling the olives around to collect the last remnants of vodka and vermouth Lauren kept her eyes focused on the woman across from her. Lifting the small, skewed, fruit towards her lips, Lauren noticed that the brunette clearly had no idea whom she was messing with. With the stage set, she gave Bo a small smile before licking the mixture off the olives before giving one a small nibble and dropped the fruit back into the glass.

As a connoisseur of attractive women, and former regular of bars where an lsd, rum and coke was an opener for a long night, Bo had to learn how to deal with seeing things that would cause most people to panic. However, even as a sexual woman, and someone formerly able to breathe, nothing had prepared her for watching as Lauren licked vodka off and take a bite from an olive. Trying to remember something intelligent to say, and failing completely, Bo noticed that the glass was indeed empty after only a few minutes. "You know just because those drinks were sitting here didn't make them free."

"I thought the whole point of drinks at a bar was to actually drink something?" Lauren leaned forward, watching as Bo's eyes faltered to keep her own. She really didn't have many shirts that weren't button down, but Kenzi found a grey one and insisted that with being opened a few buttons lower than Lauren was comfortable with it would be suitable. If the small surgeon wasn't already getting drunk on free alcohol Lauren knew she would owe her several drinks for helping her get ready.

"Right." Bo wanted to keep up their game of cat and mouse, but her brain had oddly stopped working right at the moment she realized a couple more buttons and she would know what Lauren had on under her shirt. Snapping out of the haze, and her eyes away from the pale flesh that had become ever so slightly visible, Bo noticed Lauren smirking at her.

"Right, it is, but I can't afford a high maintenance girlfriend who drinks through fine vodka like its cheap beer right now so I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off." Technically she did have a tab going for three of them, just one Bo had no intentions of paying for as her grandfather owed her at least a night of free drinks, and that meant leverage over if Lauren got another drink. Of course if buzzed Lauren was throwing her off her game, she also figured drunk Lauren would probably have her in the stock room before she could process what was happening.

"Is that so? Well I couldn't deal with a control freak that is too much of a cheap skate to show a girl a good time." As she took a drink from the second rather tasty martini that had been on the table, since Bo didn't seem to want it, she glanced the quiet room and noted the warmth of the dark wood, feeling Bo's eyes on her the whole time.

"I'll have you know those drinks you are so casually draining cost thirteen dollars without a tip, and since I doubt you could hide a credit card in those jeans, I don't think you're in any position to be calling me a control freak." Having the blonde sitting across from her overwhelmed any fear with a welcoming feeling of ease that Bo had only found before in the scarce moments after clearing a patient that was going home in better shape than they had arrived at the hospital. When talking to the ER head they could slip into a conversation where they left off, or start on a completely new tangent, at any given time and left her constantly feeling like she needed a cold shower.

"Well then perhaps you should buy thirteen of them and leave a thirteen dollar tip." The words came out a little more slurred, and aggressive, than she had intended, and Lauren doubted her companion was simply going to ignore that given the way the brunette across from her raised an eyebrow and smiled, which in turn made the whole thing even more embarrassing.

"One date and two drinks in and you're already telling me what to do at dinner. What's next you going to insist we go back to your place and I take off all my clothes?" Bo was rather proud of her sarcastic comment until the feline grin that reached Lauren's eyes followed it had her wishing she hadn't let Lauren take the only thing within ten feet of them that was cold.

"Of course not. That's date number three." Not that it wasn't tempting to skip ahead, but Lauren definitely wanted to be sober when they got to that part.

"Okay. You free for dinner and movie tomorrow even if it doesn't include free drinks?" Bo didn't care how desperate she sounded. There was something about Lauren's not only ability, but willingness to challenge her that was exciting. Of course the promise of a third date, and what that could bring, helped. Hopefully Lauren had no plans for the next two nights though because Bo definitely wouldn't survive waiting weeks.

Lauren found herself nodding in agreement before Bo even finished her question and probably for several seconds afterward before finally getting her head to stop. "I'd like that."

"Great. I'll go order us some food and rescue Kenzi from exile." Bo got another nod from Lauren, though not as enthusiastic as the one a moment before but managed to pry herself away from the table all the same. She didn't quite reach the bar before something someone with small arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her waist like a child.

"There's BoBo! I was just telling Chip that you are the best BoBo friend in the world." Kenzi had decided she made two new best friends after sharing enough tequila shots with Chip the bartender. After all what wasn't to like about a guy pouring drinks and a chick that is willing to pay for them. "I doubted that before and for that I think we should have some apology shots."

"Why I appreciate all that, how drunk are you right now?" Bo managed to extract the surgeon from her before trying to get the woman to stand without her help and after a minute it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Trying to figure out how the woman really got trashed in such a short time, Bo checked the time on her phone to see it had been over an hour since she had set down with Lauren again. "Shit. I'm sorry Kenzi. I guess we kind of got distracted."

"It's okay. Apology shots will make you feel better. Chippy, a round for my apologizing bobolicious friend." Kenzi went to march back to the bar to celebrate someone's apology, but there was a tractor beam holding her in place like from one of Lauren's terrible tv shows she liked.

"Chip, everything the two of you drank plus the two martinis I got earlier goes on my tab. That's the Ysabeau McCorrigan account. I also need some coffee to go and something to write on. Understand?" Getting a thumb's up from the also clearly intoxicated bartender, Bo more or less dragged Kenzi to the booth, finding Lauren with an oddly amused look on her face.

"It is good to see you two have become friends." Lauren had been expecting Bo to be back with some news about their impending dinner, but a drunk Kenzi was an entertaining surprise.

"Best friends from what I could gather. Apparently that is what happens when we leave her at the bar for over an hour." Letting Lauren's best friend get fall down drunk seemed like a terrible thing to let happen on a first date, but when the blonde started giggling Bo realized she wasn't going to get much help in dealing with the drunk surgeon.

"Guess we got distracted." Lauren knew it must seem like she was being a terrible friend, but she knew Kenzi and Kenzi would have hated being stuck within earshot range of her and Bo tonight. Especially if she was sober and kept away from a well-stocked bar with all she could drink alcohol.

"I've got some coffee coming, since I need one of you awake long enough for an address and hopefully help getting the other one inside once I get the two of you home." That Lauren wasn't bothered by Kenzi's condition and Kenzi was still trying to hug her, Bo figured the rest of damage control would be handled by a bartender not wanting to get fired and the large tip she just put on the able was going to leave for the waitress she hadn't seen.

"I can just call a cab Bo." Lauren wasn't going to impose the woman to take them home, especially after she paid for everything.

"Not tonight. We'll take your car and I guarantee I won't take no for an answer." There was no putting off a conversation with her family anyways so retrieving her car tomorrow would be as good as any time to do it and really Bo wasn't ready to leave Lauren's side if she didn't have to.

Lauren wanted to protest further, but the waitress walked over with coffee and a writing pad, grabbed the bills and left why doing her best to ignore they existed she was rather interested in finding out why instead. Getting only a shake of her head from Bo, and Kenzi randomly hissing at the woman, Lauren picked up the coffee and helped carry their drunk companion out the bar as Bo stayed behind to write something.

Bo wrote out a quick note to make sure Trick knew it was in fact her with two friends that ran up the bill and yes she had left her car behind overnight. If they were going to start talking again it might as well be after he has to live with that someone drank half the top shelf for free. By the time she found a familiar blonde standing next to a car in an almost empty lot, there was no sign of Kenzi until she got close enough to see a small form stretched across the backseat. "If nothing else she can't say I was lying about the free drinks next time someone needs a kidney."

"Don't get your hopes up too high. When she wakes up in the morning she might just start planning to take it using a pocket knife as revenge." Most of the time Kenzi managed to sober up with a silent disdain for the world that lasted through half a box of cereal and a day of cartoons, but on occasion Lauren had found her watching crime dramas, drinking water and swearing in Russian at the TV instead.

"I think you underestimate the bonds of friendship we forged tonight." Bo settled into the driver's seat, making some minor adjustments, and finding the keys already in the ignition as Lauren settled into her role as a passenger.

"Ah-huh. Well if you have to avoid OR for the next month or two you'll have no one to blame except yourself."

"And when you aren't invited to our awesome parties in the longue you'll have no one to blame except yourself." Bo had gotten the car on the main road and knew there was no immediate threat of missing Lauren's address, but she actually didn't know where the woman lived.

"Where does the vengeful surgeon and lightweight administrator call home anyway?" Keeping one eye on the road and one hand on the wheel, Bo pulled up a taxi service contact on her phone to arrange a ride from the mystery house to her apartment.

Lauren, taking advantage of Bo's split focus, Lauren leaned over until she could whisper in Bo's ear. "Is this the part of the date where you offer to show me yours if I show you mine?"

By the slight jerking of the car and a phone nearly being dropped, Lauren felt satisfied that Bo would remember the night was more than three friends getting a drink together and retreated back to her own space. "It's the condo development that was built about five years ago, about ten minutes from the hospital."

"If we make it there alive." Bo did manage that, even arranging a taxi to pick her up, but by the time they arrived at the upscale community she was officially on edge. After Laruen's little stunt she regularly had to look over at Lauren just to make sure the woman was going to behave and that had her mind on what she would do if they got to Lauren's and she didn't have the safety of needing to operate a car to keep the blonde at bay.

"Do you need any help with Kenzi?" Sure Bo, volunteer to follow the lioness into her den, that's the best way to avoid being eaten.

"It's okay Bo, you can breathe. Just take the keys out and for open the rear door on your side." When Bo did as she asked, Lauren nudged Kenzi until the woman stirred. "Kenzi, your couch awaits."

Bo was surprised when like a drunk zombie Kenzi started moving again, even exiting the car and taking the keys from her hand after whispering something in Russian. She watched as the front door to the building was opened and Kenzi disappeared inside. "Does she always do that?"

"Pretty much. Though one night I found her trying to pick the lock to our place with some hair pins after she forgot her key." Why still drinking Kenzi could be a nightmare to manage, and hung-over Kenzi was moody at best, Lauren had found drunk car ride home Kenzi to be very cooperative over their years together.

"I would like to see that." It would be well worth the price of drinks to see Kenzi attempt to pick a lock after a night out.

"What else would you like?" Lauren had meant it as an innocent question, maybe give her some idea about their date tomorrow, but by the way Bo was looking at her that wasn't how it was interpreted.

Bo licked her lips as she realized Lauren was stand next to her and there was literally nothing keeping them apart. She was done resisting. "You."

"You sure?" Lauren's own self-restraint was gone. Rules and reasons for holding back no longer important as Bo leaned forward. There was an ever so brief pause just before their lips could touch and Lauren seized that chance to capture Bo's lips with her own.

It was everything. They moved against each other with ease and yet Lauren felt the slightest motion. The hand brushing against her neck, the slight exhale and inhale before they were connected again. Satisfying seemed like an odd sensation when it came to Bo, but that's what ti was. For that moment they had all the time in the world and Lauren was quiet content with simply enjoying Bo. At least she was until some sort of honking sound filled her ears and Bo was no longer on her lips.

For Bo, even in the blaring sound of a clearly annoyed cab driver, she struggled to pull back and as her forehead rested against Lauren's she didn't dare to open her eyes because she would see how flushed Lauren was and what followed would be needy with tongue and teeth. Managing to take a few steps back Bo opened her eyes and was glad she had put the distance between them because it was only Lauren being out of arm's reach that kept her from pulling her forward and picking up where they left off.

"Three dates huh?" If Lauren wanted everything tonight Bo was going to make her admit to it, to break the odd rule she had put in place. She wasn't going to push If Lauren still wanted to wait.

"We'll see." Lauren would have like to think that she came off as admonishing Bo for assuming that she had guaranteed anything at the end of a third date, or even that there would be one, but all she could think about was dragging the other woman upstairs and she could tell Bo knew exactly what was going on in her head. Somehow though she didn't and she saw Bo smile as she understood.

"Goodnight Lauren." Bo made the short trip to her cab in silence, not looking back until the door on the vehicle was almost closed and the door to the condo was in a similar state. When Lauren shut the door, Bo closed hers and told the driver her address. Leaning her head back all Bo could think about was what she could do tomorrow that would match tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. It's hard to explain why exactly, but for those of you that follow my Doccubus work you might noticed my absence. Well I'll just say this nearly 7,000+ word update was freshly written only in recent days because the 4,000+ word update I had wrote a year ago was so angsty and dramatic I didn't feel like it fit what I wanted this story to focus on. That being said I will be wrapping this up with one more chapter, which will bump the rating for this story up to Mature Audiences, followed by an epilogue, both of which are mostly complete. After that I'm not sure what is next for my Doccubus writings, but I'm open to suggestions so if you have an idea leave them in a review or send me a message.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating increase to Mature.

Lauren had been checking her phone, or more accurately checking the time, for hours, which meant instead of doing the intelligent thing of staying and home enjoying some extra sleep, as Kenzi was, she had been wondering the streets trying to keep her mind busy. That wasn't to say she got up early. No, it was more like she hadn't slept at all in the hours since Bo dropped them off.  
She had tried of course. Going through her normal nightly routine after getting Kenzi settled in and making sure her roommate would be okay, but nothing could slow her thoughts about Bo. Reading only made her wonder what books Bo liked. Cleaning the condo, since nothing was going to wake up Kenzi before noon, had her debating what aspects of the woman's personality would be reflected in her apartment. Even a brief Star Trek marathon had left her worried that Bo might prefer reality shows to classic science fiction.  
If she wasn't overanalyzing something she knew about the brunette, she was panicking over what she didn't and how something unknown could end their relationship, if they were even in a relationship. Lauren felt comfortable with the phrase based on everything that happened last night and Bo wanting to continue to see her romantically, but she wondered if in the light of day if anything would change. It hadn't for her. She couldn't think of anything that would make her give up a chance at a future with Bo. She just had to know if she was alone in hoping for something beyond three days.  
When her phone finally showed 8:15 AM Lauren opened her text messaging app, then closed it. Her plan had been to send the woman occupying her thoughts suggesting a morning rendezvous between them for breakfast since things were quiet and from there they could talk about what would happen tonight. Leaving something to chance had always sounded like an excuse for poor planning so she had been trying to plan everything out, on her own nonetheless but, the strange thing was, nothing with Bo had gone according to plan.  
Lauren had assumed that she would be looking for a new doctor for the ER within a few months as something at a specialty level opened up in the area. Then as the dynamic between them started to shift Lauren was certain it wouldn't go beyond having more social interaction at work. Last night she had figured would be about Kenzi having a chance to interact with Bo and provide her oddly keen insight when it came to people. Instead the woman stayed in the ER even before they started growing closer, she started wondering if Bo's flirting was more than Bo being relaxed around her and she she left Kenzi standard at a bar because she spent most of the time wanting to climb into Bo's lap to see if her lips were as intoxicating as the drinks. She didn't, but it had been tempting.  
It was her planning that had kept her up all night, leaving her exhausted despite the several cups of coffee she had consumed when overthinking everything seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea. Why was she making it so difficult to ask Bo if she wanted to grab some coffee because Lauren didn’t want to wait until tonight to see her? It would be a good opportunity to find out more about Bo’s tastes and maybe what Bo’s lips tasted like in comparison to the coffee.  
Tired of arguing with herself, or perhaps just tired, Lauren decided to let chance settle the matter. She would go to the apartment building and then call Bo once she was there. If the woman that resided there answered she would ask Bo to coffee, if not she would go home and try to take in as many hours of sleep as possible.  
It should have took far longer than the fifteen minutes that had passed to walk to get two fresh coffees and walk to Bo’s apartment, but she must have headed in that direction after leaving her condo or her phone was lying and arguing with time did not strike Lauren as a promising sign of what the next few minutes would hold for her ability to have an intelligent conversation. Not wanting to argue with a chance, a concept she did not believe in, Lauren pulled the phone out her pocket and dialed Bo, hoping to deliver a simple yet coherent question to the other doctor.  
“Lauren? What’s going on?” Bo felt excitement and confusion completely takeover her life when she saw Lauren’s name pop on her phone.  
"Can I come up?" Lauren felt surprised at how calm she sounded given how stressed out she had been all morning.  
"Can you...where are you?" Bo was certain Lauren must have dialed her number by accident because at no point had she told the woman her address or to stop by this morning.  
"Outside your building." Suddenly Lauren felt the panic rise up again. This might be far too much like a stalker and now Bo was going to change her number, then cities, because of her.  
"Okay. I'm apartment 309." Bo wasn't sure what was happening exactly, but if Lauren had made a trip to see her then she wasn't going to miss the opportunity to spend more time with the blonde. Plus her apartment wasn't a complete mess for once, although it wasn't exactly clean. "Just please take the stairs."  
"Yeah?" Lauren needed conformation, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.  
"Sure. Stairs, 309, knock when you get here." Bo was already tossing clothes into a pile without a thought as to if any of it was clean or why it had been scattered across the living room in the first place.  
"Okay." Lauren ended the call before firing off a quick message to Kenzi letting her know where she had gone, just in case her roommate actually woke up before she returned. Unlikely, and Kenzi wasn't the kind who would start calling the moment she realized Lauren had left unannounced, but she hadn't completely sworn off being a responsible person.  
She took a moment to study the building and the immediate area. It was nice. Further from the hospital than she would have picked if another option was available, but Lauren figured that distance from the central area of the city was part of the appeal to a lot of the residents. The entryway was wide enough that even on busy mornings it could probably handle the traffic. Even the stairs were clean and sturdy as she made the climb to the third floor.  
Lauren had never thought much about where Bo, or her other coworkers, lived as long as addresses matched official records. Now though she was pleased that Bo was in a safe area and that it was close enough for walking to be feasible if she didn't have to worry about time. Arriving at 309, Lauren knocked lightly with her knuckles and before her hand could leave the door it was already open.  
"Hi." Bo felt a smile overtaking her face, but there was no stopping it, not with Lauren being the best surprise in her life in years and suddenly showing up.  
"Hi." Lauren immediately felt Bo's excitement wash over her and returned that smile with one her own. She also noticed that Bo appeared to be breathing harder and leaning forward as if trying to catch her breath, signs that she had clearly rushed around the apartment since her call. "I should have given you more notice."  
"No!" All Bo heard was Lauren saying she shouldn't have showed up and might leave for fear of causing Bo problems. "Stay. Come in. I'm just not used to company. Aside from the building manager fixing a burnt out electrical outlet, it has literally been just me.”  
"If you’re sure." Lauren started moving her feet forward, almost disappointed when Bo stepped aside to let her enter the living space and prevent them from colliding. It was a simple apartment without much beyond the necessities, but it was warm with wood flooring and what looked like a small kitchen nestled in a corner and a bedroom at the other end of a small living room.  
"I know it's not much." Bo had checked online for a basic idea of what Lauren's condo might look like and yeah there was a notable difference between the two.  
"It’s yours." Lauren liked her condo. It had space for a personal lab and office. She could also put up the paintings she did when nothing else would sooth her. Still, part of why she liked having Kenzi there was to give it a sense of life. Even if that meant occasionally coming home to an empty pizza box that had been thrown at the TV.  
"Every square foot of it as long as I keep depositing rent checks." Bo felt a sense of a satisfaction that Lauren liked her little apartment because she definitely liked Lauren being in it. "Want the tour?"  
"I'd like that." Lauren wasn't sure where this tour would end, but yeah she was very willing to find out what Bo had mind. Remembering some of her manners, Lauren extended a coffee towards the brunette. “I figured you were probably just getting up and might like some caffeine.”  
“Mother of god yes.” It had been a rough night after she left Lauren’s as Bo constantly replayed the night over in her head before she finally passed out, only to wake up a few hours later thanks to a nightmare where her pending date with Lauren went horribly wrong and the blonde disappeared from her life. Coffee, and Lauren, were something she dearly needed after that.  
Lauren smiled at Bo’s eagerness for the substance and sipped on her drink quietly as the tour started in the kitchen. It was a small area, barely housing a stove, sink and a few cupboards, but Lauren figured she could manage to make a decent meal in it if ever it was necessary. Silence seemed to be a part of the tour though until they left the small area for the living room again.  
“Mind if I ask you something?” Getting only a shake of her head from Lauren, Bo pressed forward. “How did you and Kenzi end up living together?” Bo definitely got more of a sister vibe to their relationship then anything in the way of unresolved sexual tension, but she still couldn’t figure out how the unlikely duo fit together.  
“It started in college as Kenzi sort of forced herself into my life. She was there on a scholarship and generally harassed most of the faculty and other students that she thought would and I quote ‘be dead within five minutes if they ever had to buy a stolen stereo’. Turns out she was pre-med and picked up a lot of the same, practical, courses I had and I guess she decided I would be able to successfully buy a stolen stereo.” Lauren thought on their early encounters before remembering the last year at college brought a slight frown to her face and earned the blonde a sympathetic look from Bo as they walked into the living room and though Lauren wasn’t going to get into details she did feel like Bo should know something. “We drifted apart during med school as she wasn’t a fan of Nadia and the two of them could barely be in the same room.”  
“I could see how it would difficult to avoid Kenzi if she didn’t wanted to be avoided.” Bo figured alcohol made the surgeon clingy in a physical sense, but she seemed like a hard person to shake off. She could also tell Lauren was opening up to her about Nadia at the same time, but didn’t want to push on such an unhappy topic for the blonde. “I was lucky when Hale returned my phone call because no else was when I started leaving messages.”  
“How did your previous relationship end anyways?” Lauren realized a reason for the blank walls might have more to do with why Bo was living alone than a lack of interest in decorating. The brunette never talked about the family Hale had referenced and were somehow connected to the location of their escapades last night according to Kenzi.  
“With him and that redhead waitress who spent the night doing her best to not notice I was there. I found them in the backroom of that bar. Apparently he had some idea that our relationship was an open one.” Bo thought that was the worst excuse she had ever heard, but certainly enough of her friends and family bought it that she became the bad guy for ending things. Having reached the end of the tour, Bo gestured to the couch with the coffee still in her hand.  
“Wow that is terrible. Well, frankly, if he couldn’t get past his own issues other than by cheating on you than he doesn’t deserve you as a coworker or his girlfriend.” Lauren saw a smirk tugging at the lips of her companion before Bo joined her on the couch.  
“My my Lauren if I did know better I would say you have a bit of a soft spot for me.” There was no echoing laughter, the look of feigned surprise like the blonde had no idea that the two of them were closer to each other than either one should be comfortable with however had made appearances in the past and Bo smiled at Lauren’s terrible poker face.  
Since finding herself in Bo’s life, Lauren felt barriers being lost at an ever more rapid pace as the woman got closer. She had no idea how things were going to progress, but Bo was not someone that life let slip by and for the time being Lauren was still amongst the living. The brunette was still celebrating getting a shot in against her friend with a couple more drinks from the reflex impairing concoction, which was a mistake she was not going to let pass when it could be so easily utilized. “You have some something on your lips.”  
That said Lauren made sure she kept Bo’s lips busy with her own why pushing the woman into the couch cushions. Her heart was racing, the heat shooting through her threatened to burn her alive from the inside out and she was certain she would tear her own hair out if her hands hadn’t found Bo’s soft skin instead…yet, in that moment, she felt calm. The pressure to be the perfect doctor, the perfect wife, the perfect boss, hell the perfect person, all faded as Bo’s lips moved against her own.  
She was free of it all, but the moment Bo’s tongue found her own in a kiss unlike any other she had felt it became clear that she had lost control. That thought was completely exhilarating, like free falling from a mountain. Only in this case she didn’t need to even jump off a mountain. Instead the sensation seemed to follow just letting Bo do whatever she wanted, which would explain how she found herself suddenly under the woman as talented hands ran grazing touches on skin that had been exposed by a slightly raised shirt.  
There were a thousand thoughts screaming in her head to say something, anything. Tell her to stop. Tell her to go lower. Tell her that this was a mistake. Tell her that she had made the mistake of not doing this sooner. Scream for help. Scream for more.  
It wasn’t any good though. Lauren had lost any ability to speak; something Bo discovered when she found a spot on the blonde’s neck just above the quickening pulse that was usually covered by soft hair and instead of words the sound that came out was more like squealing brakes. That brought something of an abrupt stop to the line crossing as Bo stopped to make sure everything was all right and Lauren used the break to gently push up until she was sitting with Bo in a lap.  
As her mind sought clarity for what had just happened, her body just wanted to feel the heat rushing through it again. There would be little hope for rational thought if Bo pushed forward, but instead the seemed to need a bit of space herself and when she went to pull away, Lauren decided clarity could wait and captured Bo’s lips again why pulling the brunette against her.  
The younger woman did not seem upset by the sudden interaction in the slightest. In fact when the softness of lips, a swipe of a tongue and light nips against her bottom lip ended when Lauren felt a need for oxygen, Bo suddenly leaned back and had a smile as if she just conquered Rome. Lauren wanted to be annoyed, wanted to dump the woman on her ass to if she was so certain of herself from the floor, instead it just turned her on.  
“Would you like a paper bag?” As a doctor it was not unusual to see patients whose only problem was an acute shortness of breath and yes Bo was rather pleased that in this case she was why Lauren’s lungs were trying to take in as much oxygen as possible.  
Bo looked so happy with herself, and her joke, that any insecurity Lauren felt before turned into a raw determination to wipe that smirk off those heavenly lips. Taking full advantage of their position, she leaned towards the other woman until just as lips were about to touch. She would give anything to feel Bo’s lip against her own, and got the impression that feeling was mutual, so in a final second she pulled away slightly and dumped the brunette off her lap and onto the couch.  
Standing up, and ignoring both the confused Bo and tipped over coffee cups, Lauren started towards a closed door, not bothering to turn around before clueing Bo into what she was doing. “You forgot to show me the bedroom during the tour.”  
Bo was still in a daze, not helped by Lauren suddenly heading for her bedroom, until it hit her like a brick as to why she hadn’t used the ‘would you like to see the bedroom’ line. Unfortunately Lauren had the bedroom door opened before Bo could spring to her feet and run ahead to cut off the embarrassing scene. There on the unmade bed was all the random pieces of clothing she had found on the floor that definitely didn’t add to a ‘this is where we won’t be doing any sleeping if you play your cards right’ line she was hoping to set up before Lauren ever opened that door.  
“Oh.” That was the only thing Lauren could think to say after seeing the mess that Bo had clearly intended to keep hidden.  
“Yeah, sorry.” Bo wasn’t one to blush, but she felt embarrassed and had started turning red. “In my defense it is usually not this bad. Last night…it took a while for me to settle on something to wear.” Again not something that Bo was familiar with as over the years she had gotten used to selecting date attire based on how quickly she wanted a date to end in the bedroom. With the thought of wanting to impress, and entice, Lauren it had been different, difficult even.  
“Well, if I caused this let me help fix this.” Lauren did the only reasonable thing someone in her position could do, she grabbed the corner of a blanket and dragged it onto the floor, taking the clothes with it. Then she turned her attention to the brunette, capturing her lips and pulling at the clothes she had own.  
When enough of the interfering fabric was removed, Lauren pushed Bo onto the bed and straddled her waist. She placed kiss against the soft skin on the bottom of Bo’s right cheek. Small kisses followed just above the jaw line, each one covering as little skin as possible on the trip towards soft lips. Instead of connecting to those lips to her own, Lauren then started a second trail at the bottom of the left check. Obviously recognizing the change in pace, she could hear Bo groan and try to adjust her position to where she would be the undoing of Lauren’s plan.  
Any protest the woman was making stopped though when Lauren moved her hands over the lace covering her breasts and her fingers traced the sensitive skin barely hidden beneath it. Lauren moved her lips to Bo’s shoulder, bare except for a strap Lauren didn’t intend to remove just yet, thoroughly enjoying it as the woman arched into her hands after the added simulation. Her eyes never lost sight of Bo’s for very long though, even as her efforts increased.  
Some part of her brain was intent on noting the strangeness of the event. At another time her teasing this woman into both opposition and submission, hearing her moan as she stripped her, touched her, kissed her, when they had only had one date, would have impossible for Lauren to imagine, but seeing it, experiencing it, made it a reality that she could easily accept.  
Lauren captured Bo’s lips again once her own shirt was out of the way. The moan it drew from her girlfriend encouraged her to move forward as her right hand slipped lower, just grazing the inside of Bo’s inner thigh, Lauren felt her own reaction as she moaned when the brunette’s suddenly jerked her hips to force more contact with her fingers.  
“So needy.” Another oddity. Lauren never felt a need to be especially vocal in bed, especially not the point of actually talking. Yes she wanted Bo to know exactly what was going through her mind, what the woman was doing to her.  
“For you.” Bo had lost any intelligent thought the second Lauren tossed the clothes on the ground. All she knew was neither one of them were completely naked and Lauren hadn’t put those long fingers where Bo wanted them, yet. “For weeks.”  
Lauren lost it and a would-be-embarrassing-if-she-had-the-sense-to-recognize-it moan escaped her throat. The thought of Bo relieving that desire for her in the bed they were in at the end of the day, or maybe the shower before work, before seeing her almost every day, broke her resolve. She stripped the brunette and herself of what little they had on before kissing, licking and biting her way down Bo’s bare body.  
Lauren didn’t wait, didn’t bother with further conformation, at least not in words, the moan as her hand trailed down the muscular abdomen of the dark haired goddess beneath her was enough to know Bo was ready. Her lips went to the right thigh and she saw a curtain of dark hair cover Bo’s as her back arched off the bed before the woman fell against her.  
Her hands pushed apart the woman’s thigh and she stalled only long enough to blow across Bo’s center, causing the woman to buck her hips. Lauren wanted to truly understand how ready Bo was and with that tongue entered the warm sex of her lover. Her left hand joined her in pushing Bo ever closer to the edge as she started rubbing Bo’s clit.  
Bo had wrapped her hands around the head post, holding on to the only thing she could grip, as she screamed the blonde’s name. It had been a strange twelve hours, a strange few months really, but finally she felt something other than the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was so close to release that she nearly missed Lauren’s mouth pressed lightly against her own and that fingers had replaced a talented tongue. She needed that push, the reminder that she had someone for more than a one night stand, and when Lauren curled her fingers she finally let go.  
“Lauren.” This time Bo painted out the name not out of lust, but something deeper, something more meaningful, that her brain couldn’t convey.  
“I know.” Lauren reached out, gently placing her hand on Bo’s cheek. She felt the same, but she was human and knew the occasional distraction helped when unable to come to decision, discover a solution or express a thought properly. Fortunately Bo seemed satisfied with her response and she felt the woman flip their positions, bare breasts pressed into her own as the heat from a series of open mouth kisses spread across her neck and shoulder.  
“Good.” It wasn’t difficult to see why they had trouble figuring out her relationship up until this point as even know Bo wasn’t sure exactly where it was all headed, but for now that didn’t matter. Lauren completely exposed to her completely and Bo wasn’t going to waste that by doing so instead she cupped Lauren’s center, earning her a throaty moan. She wanted to push against Lauren, discover what the doctor’s reaction to being devoured by set of lips, explored by a pair of hands, feeling a soft body against her own.  
“I think we’re do for a talk doctor.” Bo only got another moan and several nods from Lauren, but she wasn’t sure if the woman really liked the idea of talking or if it was because her fingers were teasing the blonde’s silky entrance. If she had to guess her money would be on the second. ”After I’ve heard you scream my name we’ll see how that goes.”  
Lauren only pushed her hips down against the teasing fingers of the dark haired woman lingering over her, ignoring the world that tried to push in with reason and processing what Bo was saying. That wasn’t for today though, not with more pressing desires to deal with. She had given up on intelligent thinking and settled on waiting for Bo to do more than tease with the rest of her mental capacity needed to control her ragged breathing, alternating between biting and licking at Bo’s lips, and the thrust of her hips all while focusing on the brunette who was watching her.  
Every thrust, every caress, every nip of teeth against flesh, Lauren focused through it all on the black eyes fixated on her own. She had wanted to see Bo’s reaction, to know that Bo, had wanted this and what was clear was Bo wanted her. No matter the complications, no matter that they worked together, no matter that Lauren had been resisting the attraction between them even after exploring Bo’s mouth the night before, Bo still looked at her as if she was perfect.  
When Bo’s fingers entered her she couldn’t hold back anymore. Lauren closed her eyes and there was only one thought surviving as the contractions of the muscles and flood of chemicals created the familiar euphoric state. “Bo!” The world was lost to her senses, a state that was prolonged by the physical ministrations of one woman and memory of the other. Slowly the world returned and Lauren found herself on her side, held tightly from behind by an arm across her waist.  
“Welcome back.” Bo took the blonde’s earlobe between her teeth and intended to resume her fun with the doctor when she felt the woman still her hand and that smirk appeared on Lauren’s face as the woman turned around.  
Lauren’s familiar lips were on collarbone when three fingers were inside her without warning. Where Lauren found the energy, Bo didn’t care at this point, last night’s make out session hadn’t been enough and she would kick herself later for not tasting Lauren on that desk the first time they were alone in her office.  
She did however want control back. Even as fingers were joined with a greedy mouth and Lauren was slowly, painfully, teasing her breast, Bo wanted to resume her plan to turn her lover’s legs into jello. It wasn’t that Bo didn’t enjoy Lauren’s sudden boldness, but she had a reputation to uphold.  
Before Lauren could do anything more she was suddenly on her back looking at the ceiling. “Bo!” Lauren was fairly certain didn’t have the upper body strength to stop physically stop Bo if well hydrated and rested so that certainly wasn’t going to happen now. Fortunately the sudden movement didn’t seem to mean she was in any immediate danger or at least not in the way most people would consider dangerous, but the desire in Bo’s eyes as she looked down at her definitely left her breathless.  
Lauren had been with other women, not just Nadia, and had never felt unsatisfied, but already she knew nothing would compare to being with Bo. When Bo’s mouth pressed hard against her core, lashing against her with a precision that didn’t seem possible, all the while fingers worked rapidly in and out of her, it was truly incredible. For fleeting moment, when it all came crashing down again, she thought she might actually be dead and Lauren smiled why waiting for death to claim her.  
When she realized her mortal coil had survived she had to laugh that she had never thought about how just much she was missing out on those slow nights when it was just her and Bo in the ER with hardly a thing to do. Her body was starting to protest, but seeing that smirk on Bo’s face Lauren wasn’t going to give up that easily. With one more kiss, tasting herself on Bo’s lips, providing a burst energy, her fingers to resume their previous effort.  
Lauren put everything she had into turning Bo into a whimpering, hot, mess one more time. It didn’t take long and Lauren smiled as the brunette shuddered beneath her. Lauren completely collapsed against her lover’s side and felt Bo’s heart still racing from her own climax. Once the fog cleared and Lauren could slow her breathing she knew it was time to face reality.  
Bo body burned as Lauren’s fingers slide into her again. The pace the blonde set caused her orgasm hit more like a mad dash than to the finish line than a marathon and when the world came back to her she more than a little pleased to feel Lauren sprawled out against her.  
Bo watched Lauren for a few seconds, fighting an urge to wrap her arms around the blonde and fall asleep. As tempting as it was she didn’t know how her lover would respond, despite them starting the day in bed, for though nothing sounded better than to enjoy the next several hours with her own sleeping beauty.  
Lauren gently traced a random pattern on the outside of Bo’s arm until she felt Bo’s body completely relax and couldn’t resist placing a light kiss on the spot her fingers had been as Lauren slowly took in the bedroom around them. It wasn’t out of uncertainty. No she often did the same even when in her own bedroom. Like so many other little things the check of her surroundings is simply how the woman ended and started her day.  
Getting no sign of disapproval, Lauren set her head against Bo’s chest and reached out to entangle their fingers on of her hands. She wasn’t certain about Bo, but personally she felt completely drained and, for the moment, satisfied. They had to talk and Lauren was still looking forward toward their date in the hours ahead, but when Bo put an arm around her and pressed a kiss against the top of her head, she even managed to somehow get the comforter off the ground and over them. Lauren could only smile has she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is, the "last chapter" of this story. The epilogue will probably pop up during the next week. I do apologize again for the lengthy wait between chapters 6 and 7, along with a two week delay between 7 and 8. My life-long friend showed up to make my life more interesting for a week, but I did manage to settle on an idea for my next story and start on a doccubus one-shot. Thank you to all kudos, I appreciate all the support and suggestions.


	9. Chapter 9

Bo had spent the better part of an hour watching the one that had stolen her heart why running her fingers through the strands of hair that were not tucked behind the reading glasses that made that pair of brown eyes shine. Bo just laid there as Lauren read some brand new publication about autoimmune becoming increasingly dangerous with the climate changes. The internal medicine specialist had no interest in reading any of the pages, or even having her girlfriend read them to her, but Bo was happy to lend her lap as a resting place for the immunologist to keep her head why engrossing herself in the newly released information since obviously the bed was the best place for reading important medical studies.

Aside from the fact that the information was outside her field and it would still face a ten year argument before it had a chance at being considered a fringe theory, let alone any of it becoming considered part of standard treatment, Bo had another reason for focusing her attention on Lauren's hair, she had been working all week. Hale was not exactly a boss that would take exhaustion as a reason for letting someone leave early and since she had been taking days off, despite her promotion, Bo was convinced he was just getting back at her for taking the time off without proper notice. Not that she didn't mind the work but it took its toll especially after Lauren left the hospital to write her own ground breaking papers on the various fields she had worked after some board members questioned if they should be working together a few months after they made it official.

The look on those smug faces when Lauren resigned when everyone knew that wasn't how they saw that plan going, almost made it worth not being able to pull Lauren into the doctor's longue for a quickie. As if to just pile on with insult to injury, Hale made her head of the department and it was Bo's turned to be surprised.

Still, before she finally gave into the weekend of rest her body had wanted for the last three days there was a thought her that she wanted to get off her chest before it kept nagging at her during her free time. Ever since a woman around her age came into the ER. It was single car involved accident. As best they could piece together the patient was driving to work and went off the road for an unknown reason. They called her husband and the best Kenzi could do was give the woman a little more time so he could be there at the end, which was more than most surgeons would have managed.

Shifting to get more comfortable she saw the other woman give her the briefest of knowing smiles before returning to finish the page she was on. Nothing would fully disturb the brainy blonde's studying but she knew that the signal of moving to lay down usually got the desired effect of speeding it up. After a minute more of hair brushing the book was closed and the warmth of its owners head begun to fade as Bo watched as Lauren properly put the book in its place on the self and set the alarm for no later than 10:00 am before the other woman finally joined her under the covers and get some shut eye herself.

"You going to tell me what's been on your mind tonight?" One of the things Lauren had learned about the love of her life was the usually open woman could grow oddly quiet when avoiding a subject.

Bo smiled before leaning over to give her better half a brief kiss. "You always know what I'm thinking, but I am not always going to be here for you." Almost instantly she watched as that happy little smile Lauren was wearing quickly turned into a less subtle frown and before her girlfriend could launch into one of her truly excellent speeches to convince her that she shouldn't think like that Bo continued on.

"I have come to accept that Lauren. None of us know for certain when the clock is going to run out, but the odds are I'm going to be first and I just want to make sure you will find someone to care for you if I can't. Do not punish yourself for getting involved with me by trying to hold onto a ghost because you deserve better than that." The brunette gave her companion a smile in hopes that she would understand her intent to make sure Lauren understood this was a hook she could release herself from at any time. What the woman got was a complete look of surprise and a sudden river of tears starring back at her.

"What…why…Bo." Lauren had seen people of all ages, of all physical conditions, come into the ER and never leave, but suddenly imagining Bo as one of those patients was a nightmare she had never thought of before hearing the brunette bring it up.

Bo noticed that it did not seem to be a lack of words that were perplexing the blonde but a lack of air and Lauren had a terrible track record of remembering that breathing was an important part of living. Recalling the previous times this had happened years ago when she witnessed Lauren falling to the hospital floor, she immediately wrapped her arms around the crying woman and held her close enough to whisper to her. "Hey now, you still have to be here for a while and I am not CPR certified." The joke was lost on the love of her life for now but it was mainly to make her feel better about creating the situation in the first place as she waited for Lauren to return to a more normal breathing cycle.

Time crawled by as the breathing against her neck became more frequent in bursts and then slowed to a more stable rate. In truth it had not been but a few minutes it was just the situation where her words seemed to damn near kill the woman she wished she could hold in her arms forever that seemed to create a much slower second than reality said was possible.

Finally she felt soft hands gently push her back letting her know that it was the desperate hug Lauren had been held in that was now threatening to induce respiratory failure. As she looked back into those brown eyes that the brightness was back. "Better?"

"I love you Bo more than I have ever loved anything and just when I think you've done everything to me you damn near give me another heart attack."

Bo had sudden thought about something else that could leave her dream woman out of breath and an evil little smirk came across her lips before she decided to simply start on the idea by putting her lips to work on Lauren's right ear lop.

"Bo!" Lauren noticed the scream did not seem to deter the brunette who instead found a spot on her neck, just beneath her ear, a lick before continuing to plant kisses down towards a shoulder encased only in a rather easy to remove camisole strap. Unfortunately, as tempting as it was to let the woman carry on, Lauren took her head away from the intended destination before giving her what she was certain Bo would consider a far too brief of a kiss on the lips before placing a second kiss on her right cheek.

"Tomorrow I'm all yours and don't make me set up the couch for you by trying that again. We both need to rest and I would like to do that just remembering how sweet you were with words. Is it going to be a problem for you to just keep your arms around me, with your hands kept safely contained in mine, tonight?" Lauren sometimes wondered if Bo wasn't the reincarnation of a sex goddess, or even a succubus, at times.

Given that she really did not have a choice since it was either snuggling up against Lauren and accepting that she was done depriving her sleeping partner of intelligent thought until tomorrow or end up on the cold couch without getting any anyways Bo quickly decided on a response. "I'll behave." She doubted that the lack of enthusiasm for the plan was missed by the other woman but she would not go back on her word.

"I promise I'll make it worth the wait." Lauren settled in for the night, pressing her back against Bo and encasing the woman's hand around her waist with her own.

"You keep moving around like that and making promises and I won't be held responsible for my actions." Bo did her best to try to keep her hands from drifting down Lauren's stomach because she wasn't without some sense of self-control, it was just challenging when she and been kept from truly enjoying the company of her ridiculously hot wife for the last week.

Lauren could only laugh at what was on Bo's mind just minutes after she had been so quiet in recent days. "Goodnight Misses Lewis."

"Goodnight Misses Dennis." As Bo felt the world fall away until it was only Lauren's gentle breathing, she made a silent promise to them both to do anything she could to have as many more nights end like this as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you have it, the epilogue and last piece of this story puzzle. I cannot explain my sincere thanks enough to those that have followed, added to favorites and left reviews for a story that should have been finished a year ago. I should have something Doccubus related posted in the next couple of weeks along with another piece for a different fandom so keep an eye out.


End file.
